E-Newsletter - April 2025
Spotlight on Alliance Programs
Optimizing the When and How of Cancer Treatment:
THE MISSION of Alliance Procedure-Based Therapy PrograM (PBTP)
Surgery to remove localized tumors has been a key part of cancer treatment for over a hundred years and has been crucial for curing patients, especially before modern chemotherapy. Recently, new treatments and technologies are helping us rethink how we approach local care.
With some medical therapies showing high success rates for solid tumors, we’re starting to question whether local treatments are always necessary. The idea of doing less surgery, which used to seem impossible, is now being considered. At the same time, the challenges of recurring tumors after surgery are pushing us to explore new options, like giving chemotherapy directly to the tumor during surgery.
Advancements in radiation technology are making treatments more precise and broadening the range of patients who can benefit from radiation therapy. With innovations like machine learning and robotics, and the increased role of specialists in cancer care, we have exciting new possibilities. We're investigating whether targeted, non-surgical methods could provide similar results to traditional surgery.
The goal of the Alliance Procedure-Based Therapy Program (PBTP), launched in spring 2023, is to harness these innovations to improve how and when localized therapies are delivered. A vital part of this effort is developing imaging techniques that accurately capture the details of the disease, allowing us to tailor treatments to each patient’s needs.
Led by Isabelle Bedrosian, MD, a surgical oncologist with a clinical practice dedicated to breast cancer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the PBTP is made up of three committees and one working group.
- Imaging Committee – led by Lawrence (Larry) H. Schwartz, MD, a radiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Radiation Oncology Committee – led by Jeffrey Bogart, MD, who specializes in radiation oncology at SUNY Upstate Medical University
- Surgery Committee – led by Chandrajit Raut, MD, MSc, a surgical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Interventional Oncology Working Group – divided into Interventional Radiology (IR) led by Robert (Bud) Liddell, MD, an interventional radiologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Interventional Pulmonology (IP) led by Fabien Maldonado, MD, MSc, an interventional pulmonologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
PBTP is guided by four scientific priorities:
- Identify the optimal approach for delivery of localized therapy through conduct of cross modality studies;
- Test tailored approaches to local therapy within the multidisciplinary context, including de-escalation trials;
- Test the efficacy of minimally invasive procedures, including treatments delivered through percutaneous and endoscopic approaches; and
- Develop imaging biomarkers that can inform on patient treatment.
Join Us
We welcome members to participate in our committees, working groups, and meetings—and to share ideas for new studies. Your involvement is essential to our progress.
Join us at the 2025 Alliance Spring Group Meeting, happening April 30–May 2 in Chicago or virtually. Register here to attend. Virtual participants will access sessions through the Attendee Hub on the Group Meeting website. Please note: you must be registered to use the Attendee Hub.
Our Program Team
For more information about the Alliance Procedure-Based Therapy Program, please contact us.
PBTP Program Director and Principal Investigator
Isabelle Bedrosian, MD
ibedrosian@mdanderson.org
PBTP Executive Officer
Beth Helmink, MD, PhD
bhelmink@mdanderson.org
PBTP Program Manager
Laura Hoffman, MA
lhoffman@alliancenctn.org
