Title:The ‘GI cancer powerhouse’ celebrates 15 years

Since its establishment in September 2009, the Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center has been dedicated to advancing transformative research to save lives.

“I’ve had the privilege of getting to know [founding donor] Jeanne Ruesch over the years,” said Louis Weiner, director of Georgetown Lombardi. “Her visionary investment in the Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers transformed—and continues to transform—the work we do at Georgetown.”

John Marshall, director of the Ruesch Center, professor of oncology and medicine at Georgetown, and clinical director of oncology and chief of the division of hematology/oncology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, met Jeanne Ruesch in 2003 when her husband, Otto, a prominent Washington, DC-area businessman and philanthropist, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Otto fought cancer for 14 months before his death in October 2004. Over that time, the Rueschs were shocked to learn about the bleak prognosis for many GI cancers.

“When I started, the average survival of patients with metastatic colon cancer was around 11 months; pancreatic cancer was about four months,” Weiner said. “It was horrible.”

The Rueschs saw the need for research and advocacy funding to treat GI cancer. In Otto’s memory, Jeanne established the Ruesch Center with Marshall as its director, encouraging him to focus on high-risk, high-reward research to make significant strides in the fight against GI cancers.

“Without [ Jeanne’s] guidance and future focus, I think we wouldn’t be having a 15th anniversary of the Ruesch Center,” says Marshall.

Standard chemotherapy regimens are ineffective for the majority of GI cancer patients. Over the last 15 years, Ruesch Center researchers have improved their understanding of the genetic mutations that drive the development of cancer and identified targeted treatments for specific tumor types. Recently, its researchers led a clinical trial combining immunotherapy with an immune activator to treat pancreatic cancer, with patients experiencing reductions in a biomarker that indicates the presence of pancreatic cancer.

The Ruesch Center gives patients access to the latest therapies from innovative clinical trials with experienced nurses. Additionally, the student summer program helps train future cancer research leaders.

“I am so lucky to work in what has become a GI cancer powerhouse,” Marshall says. “Everywhere I look, I’ve got people thinking about, caring about, spending their energy on how we make the outcomes for GI cancer patients better. The future has never looked brighter for GI cancers.”