“If we have the funding from VeloSano donors, and we have the expertise and the resources to do it, the question is why not,” says Josephine Kam Tai Dermawan, MD, PhD. “It’s almost a moral obligation to develop a better tool that will help patients.”
Co-Investigator
Sarcomas are uncommon malignant tumors that are derived from different tumor types around the body. This means they are very diverse. Because of this, it creates a significant challenge for pathologists to diagnose them. Josephine Kam Tai Dermawan, MD, PhD, and her team have a goal of creating a database and classifier that would ultimately help healthcare providers around the world.
“Even though we are specialists, and we have the expertise to currently classify a lot of sarcomas, we see there is still a lot of room for improvement,” says Dr. Dermawan. “We are really at the forefront of identifying all these cases so that we can do a better job at classifying them.”
Dr. Dermawan explains that different tumors have various patterns of DNA methylation, which are like tiny biochemical tags added to DNA molecules. The patterns are very unique, and by analyzing these tags and building a database, pathologists will be able to better categorize and diagnose sarcoma. Her goal is to make this special database available all over the world.
“The real why is to empower pathologists, even if they are at a community practice, so they are able to classify these really challenging tumors accurately and to guide clinicians they work with to better manage patients,” says Dr. Dermawan.
Doctors don’t see these types of cancers often, so about 20% of sarcomas are misdiagnosed. With this research, Dr. Dermawan hopes to change that and provide better care to cancer patients.
100% For The Cure
