Global Cancer Collaborative Launched by the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Global Health Institute
The inaugural lunch seminar of the Global Cancer Collaborative, a joint initiative between the Georgetown University Global Health Institute (GUGHI) and the Georgetown University Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, was held in February 2025. The seminar focused on the interdisciplinary nature of global cancer and explored new opportunities for collaboration across the university.
Cancer is a leading global health challenge. A report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer estimated 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million cancer-related deaths worldwide in 2022. With an aging global population and shifting risk factors, projections suggest that by 2050, the number of new cancer cases will rise to 35 million annually.
Yet, there are reasons for optimism.
Breakthroughs in early detection, targeted therapies, and prevention are making a significant impact. For example, research on human papillomavirus (HPV) has shown that early vaccination can dramatically reduce cervical cancer rates. In low-and-middle income countries, where HPV-attributable cancer is most prevalent, the implementation of HPV vaccination programs is expected to reduce cases and could even lead to the disease’s elimination by the turn of the century.
The Importance of Interdisciplinary Collaboration
At the launch event, Deus Bazira, DrPH, MPH, MBA, director of GUGHI and the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact, emphasized the need to integrate cancer care into broader global health programs, which historically have largely focused on infectious diseases.
“Creating a collective strength around key areas of interest and engagement, like cancer, aligns with the GUGHI mandate to bring people across the whole of Georgetown together to tackle global health challenges.”
Louis M. Weiner, M.D., director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, also remarked on the power of collaboration, giving the example of opportunities for international joint training programs. He noted that the United States could learn lessons from cancer prevention and care models in different settings around the world, which the university could use to improve outcomes for underserved residents in Washington, DC.
“At Georgetown, there is nothing more resonant with our values than the principle of cura personalis (care of the person). This is why it is essential for us to be creative and innovative in a multidisciplinary manner.”
Reflecting on Global Cancer Research
Following their remarks, Christopher Loffredo, Ph.D., director of the Office for Global Oncology and a professor of oncology and biostatistics, reflected on his global cancer research, including his early work in Egypt on liver cancer and his current work in Thailand on liver cancer with scientists from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and in Brazil on childhood cancer with Bassem Haddad, M.D., and Nina Kadan-Lottick, M.D,. professors of oncology.
Loffredo noted that the hardest part of collaboratives is often the most deceptively simple—determining the next steps. This involves asking fundamental questions: What do we do in our current work on cancer? What is my role? What is your role? What are our shared areas of interest? By starting with these questions, Loffredo suggested, shared interests can be identified.
Drawing from her work with bilateral and multilateral agencies, Phyllis Magrab, Ph.D., a senior advisor to GUGHI and current lead at the Georgetown Collaborative for Research and Education to Advance Children’s Health, shared insights on how collaborative efforts can amplify impacts.
Magrab recalled a time in Hungary when numerous organizations were working in isolation, causing confusion and inefficiency. It was only when stakeholders came together to coordinate their efforts that they were able to create a more cohesive approach.
“Until you open up the opportunity, you do not know where your collaborators are and where the new expansions and interests can be.”
She explained that this is the goal behind the work being done at GUGHI through the Global Maternal and Child Health Collaborative and the Global Cancer Collaborative–bringing together colleagues from different disciplines to address shared concerns.
Expanding the Conversation
Following those introductory remarks, an open discussion highlighted additional research and policy work.
Laura Rozek, Ph.D., professor of oncology and co-leader of the Lombardi Cancer Prevention and Control Program, spoke about her work in establishing bidirectional collaborative projects that inform cancer prevention and health policy decisions. In Thailand, for example, sugar-sweetened beverage tax and school-based cancer education have proven effective. Rozek also discussed culturally sensitive interventions, particularly for migrant and Indigenous populations, where cervical cancer rates are alarmingly high due to the stigma surrounding cancer. In these communities, she explained, cancer is a “death sentence.”
The importance of a human rights approach to tobacco control was discussed by Oscar Cabrera, J.D., LL.M., director of the Health and Human Rights Initiative and the Global Center for Legal Innovation on Food Environments at Georgetown Law’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, and Isabel Barbosa, LL.M., associate director of the Center for Health and Human Rights at the O’Neill Institute. Their work in Brazil, where the government sued tobacco companies for public health costs, underscores their experience collaborating with governments, public health institutes, and civil society on regulation measures to reduce cancer risks.
Judy Huei-yu Wang, Ph.D., a professor of oncology, and her team collect diet and treatment-related symptom information from Taiwanese and American women with breast cancer. The multidisciplinary research team, composed of researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center along with researchers from National Taiwan University and National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan, found notable differences in dietary patterns between the two groups. However, as Taiwan’s economy develops, there is growing concern that traditional East Asian diets, which have been shown to reduce breast cancer risk, may become Westernized. This research was supported in part by GUGHI Collaborative Research Seed Grant Awards.
Oliver Johnson, Ph.D., managing director of GUGHI, stressed the ongoing need for interdisciplinary collaboration.
“Fields as varied as business, anthropology, economics, ethics, and faith all have a key role to play in the development of holistic global cancer approaches.”
Determining Next Steps
Future meetings will focus on specific cancer-related topics, with pediatric oncology selected as the topic for the next regular meeting. Additionally, Jessica Catterson (G’26), a 2024-2025 GUGHI student fellow and a graduate student in the Master of Science in Epidemiology program, is conducting a mapping initiative on global cancer across the university.
If you are interested in joining the Global Cancer Collaborative, please fill out this interest form, which will connect you to this growing network and enable us to share announcements and future events.