The Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology program is focused on the care and treatment of patients with colorectal, pancreatic, gastric and liver malignancies. The research program is just as collaborative as the clinical program. It includes more than 40 researchers from 18 departments who have made significant strides in researching GI cancers. Their goal has been focused upon what biologic, genetic, and/or molecular processes have to take place to give rise to the development of GI cancer. In 2010, the program received a Gastrointestinal Oncology Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from NIH. The overall goal of this SPORE is to reduce mortality associated with GI cancers, specifically colorectal and pancreatic cancers. This goal will be achieved through identifying and developing interventions to modify molecular based common cancer-associated carcinogenesis and cancer progression processes and linking them to human investigations.

The Michigan Medicine Rogel Cancer Center has a NIH SPORE for Prostate Cancer which provides research support for a substantial amount of translational research conducted by faculty from multiple disciplines: Urology, Surgery, Radiation Oncology and Pathology.

The Michigan Medicine Rogel Cancer Center has a NIH SPORE for Head and Neck (H&N) cancer which strengthens the program by providing support for exciting new research projects. Head and neck cancer researchers work closely with colleagues across other disciplines: otolaryngology, radiation oncology and speech pathology. Our thoracic oncology faculty focus on conducting research in close collaboration with colleagues in thoracic surgery, pulmonary, gastroenterology, radiology and pathology.

The Hematologic Malignancies group have very active programs in clinical research and translational/basic research. Our group currently has eight non-therapeutic studies and 41 therapeutic studies open for hematologic malignancies, including SWOG and Phase I studies. We are particularly focused on opening more investigator-initiated studies, and currently have three that are active and five that are approved or pending. We also participate in numerous industry-sponsored clinical studies of cutting-edge combination therapies and molecularly targeted drugs. Our group has initiated multiple collaborative studies with University colleagues, as well as external collaborators. Our scientific efforts have led to five active NIH R01 awards.

The Melanoma Multidisciplinary Clinic, designated as the NCI’s Midwest referral center, offers patients efficient and expedited care regardless of their disease stage. The Skin Cancer Program was the first Destination Center at Michigan Medicine. Our faculty work with colleagues across 15 departments to provide outstanding patient care and offer novel therapeutic treatments for patients with melanoma.

Michigan Medicine is the coordinating center, led by Ajjai Alva, MBBS, for the Prostate Cancer Precision Medicine Multi-Institutional Collaborative Effort (PROMISE) Consortium. The Consortium is made up of multiple leading prostate cancer centers across the country, and was formed to develop a repository of real world clinical-genomic data in order to better understand the interplay between molecular features, prognosis and response to prostate cancer therapies.

The Division of Hematology and Oncology has a strong cadre of faculty devoted to sarcoma, who specialize in the care of patients with sarcomas as well as conducting clinical research to develop novel therapeutic treatment options. The Sarcoma Survivorship Clinic was opened to address the unique medical and psychosocial needs of young adult and adult sarcoma survivors. This sarcoma survivorship program is a unique coordination of care between pediatric and adult sarcoma providers as well as across medical subspecialties. Our aim is to prevent morbidity/lethality of chronic medical conditions and to improve the quality of life in pediatric, adolescent, young adult and older adult survivors.

The Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System (VAAAHS) Hematology & Oncology Section operates in close partnership with the Division of Hematology & Oncology at Michigan Medicine in all realms of their shared missions, with clinical services at the VAAAHS centered around Oncology and Hematology outpatient clinics and inpatient consultative services. The section provides the programmatic foundation and leadership for the Multidisciplinary Cancer Program at the VAAAHS. The VAAAHS is the largest single supporter of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program, enabling very diverse educational experiences characterized by immersive patient care and research experiences.

The section is actively developing its clinical research capabilities and options, as it expands in response to enormous growth in patients coming from throughout Michigan and neighboring states. The faculty are engaged in diverse research pursuits including clinical, translational, outcomes and laboratory research.