Nick Jacobs | Armed Scientists to Fight Cancer | Columns

As the 13th century Italian poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri once wrote, “From a small spark a flame can arise.”

Here we are in a time where we have access to all the information ever compiled.

We hold our electronic devices that send transmissions into space, where the signals from satellites are reflected. This is great science. But there is also impressive science close to home.

In 1999, U.S. Representative John P. Murtha worked with us to put together the pieces of life's complex puzzle by funding research into human genetics and proteomics. These efforts would help definitively summarize the myriad nuances associated with different types of cancer.

Were these cancers primarily genetic or were they more associated with environmental problems caused by toxic chemicals, additives and other toxins?

To answer these questions, scientists needed a pristine collection of donated human tissue. This tissue would come from the patients affected by the attack on their bodies.

Similar to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Geisinger in Danville, Windber became the site where this work began.

This was the same place hundreds of feet underground that Berwind Coal Co. coal cars had traversed around the clock, contributing to the Industrial Revolution. The coal mined by immigrants contributed significantly to building the world.

This time the hill would provide information to help women around the world. The Windber Research Institute followed shortly after – built on the same hill.

Some of the scientists who worked at the research institute, now the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Molecular Medicine in Windber, were in many ways similar to the immigrants who came to Windber from about 20 different countries more than 100 years ago.

This time, however, tissue, not coal, was the prized commodity that enabled the progress of another revolution, this time a scientific revolution that could eventually lead to a cure for breast cancer.

This breast health center and its associated research institute were just the beginning. It wasn't enough to provide a world-class breast health treatment center; it has become much more.

The groundbreaking initiatives of this scientific research analyzed in Windber come from a vast collection of nearly 700,000 donated tissues. These samples come from patients with different demographic characteristics.

Each sample holds a unique story of resilience and is a silent testament to the hope that emerges from the fragile cells trapped in aliquot tubes frozen in liquid nitrogen.

Unlike the coal produced during the Industrial Revolution, these samples represent a treasure trove of biological material that could advance cancer research. It's about the potential to unravel the mysteries and unlock the mysteries of effective treatments that drive these efforts.

This tissue now acts as a biological bridge to the future of medicine. Each donated tissue is a testament to the generous nature of its donors who want to “pay it forward,” and each frozen sample captures the genetic nuances of different cancers.

Dr. Stella Somiari organizes and ensures the continuity of the tissue collection.

Dr. Hai Hu is Windber's chief scientific officer and CEO Tom Kurtz works with the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute.

Their goal is to give scientists a comprehensive understanding of the genetic makeup of tumors so that individualized treatments and precise targeting become the future of cancer treatment.

Specific individual genetic mutations unique to each patient enable tailored treatment planning that can help overcome sometimes seemingly unbeatable odds.

That was a spark.

Nick Jacobs of Windber is a healthcare consultant and author of the book “Taking the Hell Out of Healthcare.”

Nick Jacobs of Windber is a healthcare consultant and author of the book “Taking the Hell Out of Healthcare.”