A conversation with David Ryan, MD
President, Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute
What led you to devote your career to cancer care?
I wanted to take care of people who were sick, and I wanted to do it in a field with enormous possibilities. During my residency at Columbia Presbyterian, the chief of oncology brought in molecular biologists to share the latest cancer science with us. Those talks made me feel we were on the verge of something amazing, and I wanted to be a part of it.
How has your career shaped your vision for the Cancer Institute?
I’ve seen progress and cures firsthand. When I was starting out 30 years ago, a patient with localized pancreatic cancer had close to a 1-in-100 chance of being cured. It’s now approaching 50/50. That progress excites me. The future excites me. Within 10 years, it’s possible that the same cancer will be found with a blood test, located with imaging and removed robotically. The person will be in and out of the hospital in two days and never see an oncologist like me.
There’s nothing standalone about having cancer. It’s a disease of complications, and it almost demands an academic medical system.
How will the Cancer Institute help make that a reality?
First, by organizing ourselves around the patient journey. It takes a village of teams to give patients the best chance at the best-case scenario. Rather than keep those teams separate, we are bringing them together from the start to coordinate and ensure seamless care every step of the way. We want our patients to feel surrounded and supported by a singular multidisciplinary team. No matter where they enter the system or where they get their care, they have the comprehensive expertise of Mass General Brigham behind them.
Second, through research. Mass General Brigham is one of the largest NIH-funded research hospital systems in the country, and about 30% of our efforts are directed at cancer. Since care and research are fully integrated at Mass General Brigham, we are one of the few places on the planet that can do fundamental science on samples provided by our own patients. That’s why, whether it is immunotherapy or cell and gene therapy, we’re able to bring the research from the lab bench to the patient’s bedside and back again, giving our patients the best chance at the best possible outcomes.
Our teams set us apart
Hear from David Ryan, MD, about our team-based approach at Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute: "You can't get to a cure without multiple disciplines coming together."
What are the advantages of the Cancer Institute being situated in a hospital system?
There’s nothing standalone about having cancer. It’s a disease of complications, and it almost demands an academic medical system. Mass General Brigham is an incredible community of experts who see the depth and breadth of all human illness, not just cancer. When I’m up on a patient floor and somebody has chest pain, I’m calling a world-class cardiology team. When a patient has cognitive changes, I’m calling a world-class neurology team. Our cancer surgeons can call on our world-class vascular surgeons. It goes on and on.
Our mission at Mass General Brigham is to serve our community and what better way than by centralizing our expertise? We want every patient to be able to say, “You treated me like I was the only person on your mind.”
To learn more and support Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute please contact Megan Daniels, assistant vice president of development, at medaniels@mgh.harvard.edu.