Prospects have improved for the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, and if its leaders stay on this track, that would result in a welcome turnaround to benefit the state.
The outlook for some others seeking grants seems far less hopeful, given the current political climate. A much more fiscally conservative Congress likely will spell cutbacks in federal funding, and many research directors are worried about continuing their work.
However, legislation dubbed the 21st Century Cures Act has been enacted, setting aside $1.8 billion for what’s described as a “moonshot” initiative. Underlying that is the philosophy that, given an appropriately focused commitment, the U.S. can achieve a great goal. The expression, of course, derives from President John F. Kennedy’s pledge to land an astronaut on the moon before the decade was out.
Applying that determination to the search for cancer cures could yield similarly cosmic results, and Hawaii should capitalize on the momentum nationally.
There are two more points that can be celebrated in what has been a rocky road for the cancer center.
One is that Gov. David Ige spoke to attendees at the Hawaii Comprehensive Cancer Coalition summit just after President Barack Obama signed the federal law. His vow was to seek $10 million for the UH Cancer Center into the biennium budget prepared for the coming legislative session.
Another is that Dr. Randall F. Holcombe, a renowned colon cancer specialist, was hired as the director of the center. He has impressive credentials and ambitious plans for the center that should give confidence to lawmakers examining the governor’s appeal.
These developments could not have happened at a more opportune time. The center, long mired in leadership conflicts and a crippling debt, needed a course correction if it was to keep its critical National Cancer Institute designation. The center brings in over $20 million annually in federal research dollars, and about $4 million hinges on that designation: These grants are available only to NCI centers.
The designation helps with recruitment of faculty, because these top-rated centers have access to the leading-edge clinical trials for new treatments.
And the designation also requires a demonstration by the center that it provides the infrastructure for this kind of research. An institution plagued with turmoil and debt would never pass muster.
A task force was assembled by the UH administration last summer, and in its October report it detailed reorganization plans to improve efficiencies, partnering with the medical school in some tasks and achieving some savings that way.
In an interview last fall, Holcombe said he was well aware of the challenges ahead but also articulated some pathways to success. He’s contemplating ways to make the center’s unused space revenue-producing — a necessary step toward sustainability. For starters, some could be renovated into usable laboratory space that could bring in new faculty and grants, he said.
He sees strengths in the center’s cancer-prevention program, and its focus on research applicable to the diverse ethnicities of Asia and the Pacific. He wants to see “early-phase” trials to Hawaii, which would bring novel compounds found helpful in cancer treatments to patients in this state.
In addition to its clinical and research work, the center is part of the university’s educational mission as well, mentoring more than 250 trainees since 2011; a majority of the faculty also work in research training and teaching at UH.
The center could be — and should be — an asset to Hawaii and the Pacific. Legislators are now presented with an opportunity to enable real gains in fulfilling that potential. This is the year they should seize that chance.
