CBCI In the News

Climbing a 14'er (which, if you don't know, is simply any mountain that exceeds an elevation of 14,000 feet above sea level) can be intimidating for many, and rightfully so.

That type of climb is no walk in the park; it really takes a special (and dare I say, crazy) person to take on such a challenge.

Choosing to climb a fourteener is a decision you, fortunately, can make on your own - being diagnosed with cancer, however, is not.

Read More: Think Climbing A 14'er Is A Battle? Meet This Inspiring CO Woman 

 Residents of Monument, Colorado, Kim and Ed Brandon accepted our invitation to be interviewed for the Fall 2021 Patient Spotlight. Kim and Ed have a son, Joe Brandon, who is 17 years old. Ed is a participant in a Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) study who is finding that the support and compassion of the WSCR-NCORP Clinical Research Coordinator team is vital to his journey, as he fights cancer. (CLL is the most common leukemia in adults.) Our thanks to the entire family for their time and sharing their answers to our questions. 

 If you, a family member, or someone you know has recently been diagnosed with blood cancer, or if you are simply curious about learning more, you may have many questions: What are the common treatments? What are the different types of blood cancer? What are the different stages? Learn more about the three most common types of blood cancer – leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma – as well as their treatment options below. 

 AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – Colorado Blood Cancer Institute patients benefiting from blood donations encourage fellow Coloradans to participate in upcoming drives. The effort to get more donations comes during Blood Cancer Awareness Month and as the institute marks its 30th anniversary.

“I just thought nothing like this could happen to me,” said Chellie Voss, a CBCI patient. “It just came out of nowhere. … It was a total shock.”

DENVER (KDVR) — Reaction continues to pour in from around the world after word came down that comedian Norm Macdonald passed away from cancer.

Most fans were unaware that the 61-year-old had been diagnosed because he kept the illness private. The sudden announcement took fans by surprise, similar to the deaths of actor Chadwick Boseman from colon cancer in 2020 and musician David Bowie from liver cancer in 2016.

Over at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver, the Rev. Michael Guthrie is one of the first people, patients seek out after they hear the sad news.

 (CBS4)– September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, a time to educate the public on blood cancers, treatment, and prevention. The Colorado Blood Cancer Institute is celebrating 30 years of treating patients who are fighting these diseases. In that time, they’ve had 5,000 stem cell and bone marrow transplants. On CBSN Denver, we talked to Dr. Jeff Matous, the medical director for the institute’s blood and marrow transplant program. He specializes in the treatment of blood cancers including multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and leukemia. 

 Check out this fun animation where Dr. Gregory explains Multiple Myeloma!

 DENVER — Doctors in Colorado know the changing mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confused people, so they answered some of our questions about the science and what habits people should change. 

 DENVER — Doctors in Colorado know the changing mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confused people, so they answered some of our questions about the science and what habits people should change. 

DENVER — Last summer, in the middle of the pandemic, Mike Sommers, a father and baseball coach, was diagnosed with blood cancer.

“Started about a year ago,” he recalled. “Routine blood work. They noticed my blood counts were low. One thing led to another and she told me it was MDS (Myelodysplastic syndromes).”

 The latest from CBCI's own Dr. Tara Gregory and Dr. Henning Schade: Novel drugs and continuous therapy have improved outcomes in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), however current therapies are largely non-curative with diminishing durations of response with subsequent therapies. Cellular therapies including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have started to illustrate deeper and longer durations of relapse in the relapsed/refractory (RR) population. Current research seeks to expand on the durability of response, novel combinations and targets as well as the timing of CAR T in the treatment schema. This review summaries the updates in cellular therapy for MM. . 

These lovebirds have been apart from each other since her treatment started in mid-January. They were reunited to celebrate their 44th wedding anniversary and the CBCI team made sure they celebrated in style! Need a pick-me-up? Watch this... 

 DENVER (KDVR) — A multiple myeloma survivor is impressing her Denver doctors and inspiring others with her incredible will to live. The science said Donna should not be here today. But medical advancements, and her positive attitude, have proved otherwise.  

 DENVER — Anything can be a canvas. That's what acute lymphoblastic leukemia patient Scotty Magoun teaches with his bi-weekly checkups at The Colorado Blood Cancer Institute at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center in Denver. 

Presenter: Marcello Rotta MD

Dr. Marcello Rotta is the Director of the Leukemia Service and Co-Director of Long Term Follow Up Service at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute, Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital.

Dr. Rotta has worked in the field of hematological malignancies and stem cell transplantation for nearly 20 years. He has extensive experience in stem cell transplantation and and cell therapy complications. His specific interest is acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease and its treatment.

During his career, Dr. Rotta has been involved in several international multi-centric clinical trials. His research focuses on late effects of transplant, graft-vs-host disease and multiple myeloma.

 DENVER (CBS4) – While some people have a number of complaints about 2020, one Denver man is counting his blessings. Dave Fromson has fought cancer twice, yet he calls himself the luckiest man in the world. 

 George Florentine survived cancer, 3 transplants 

 Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Although the clinical outcomes of cGVHD are well documented, few studies have assessed treatment practices outside of clinical trials. The present study aimed to quantify the prevalence of cGVHD, examine provider prescribing patterns, and evaluate the healthcare cost and resource utilization (HCRU) in a US cGVHD population. We analyzed anonymized claims from the Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) 5% sample for beneficiaries enrolled between 2013 and 2016 and PharMetrics commercial 2013 to 2018 databases to identify cGVHD in allogeneic HCT recipients. cGVHD was identified based on International Classification of Diseases Ninth/Tenth Revision diagnosis codes for cGVHD or unspecified GVHD with a first diagnosis >180 days post-HCT or a maintained unspecified GVHD diagnosis for >12 months postindex of unspecified GVHD diagnosis. Longitudinal and line of therapy (LOT) analyses were based on the PharMetrics dataset for 2013 to 2018. Healthcare costs were calculated by adding the inpatient, outpatient, and pharmacy insurer and beneficiary paid amounts for the commercially insured population. Total HCRU was assessed using the number of inpatient and outpatient visits following the initial cGVHD diagnosis. In 2016, the projected prevalence of cGVHD in the United States based on the Medicare FFS and PharMetrics commercial databases was 14,017 individual patients. Within 3 years after undergoing allogeneic HCT, 42% of patients developed cGVHD; 66% of the cGVHD patients had a prior diagnosis of acute GVHD. The majority of cGVHD patients received at least one systemic therapy; 71% and 47% of cGVHD patients progressed to a second and third LOT, respectively. A total of 24 unique therapeutic agents and more than 150 combinations were used in the second and third LOTs. Corticosteroids and corticosteroid combination therapy were the most common forms of treatment across all examined LOTs. Furthermore, the most commonly used agents in the first LOT, second LOT, and third LOT were corticosteroids only, calcineurin inhibitors only, and corticosteroids only, respectively. In the 12 months postdiagnosis, cGVHD patients had an average of 21.0 cGVHD-related inpatient and outpatient visits (2.8 inpatient and 18.2 outpatient visits). A significant proportion of allogeneic HCT recipients continue to develop cGVHD, and despite advances in the understanding of cGVHD, corticosteroids remain the mainstay of therapy. Patients often progress beyond the first LOT, at which time the utilization of systemic therapies is highly variable, demonstrating the need for evidence-based treatment approaches.