Advancing procedure-based cancer care
Some of the most important advances in cancer treatment are happening through procedures, such as how tumors are removed, targeted, monitored and treated. The Alliance Procedure-Based Therapy Program (PBTP) brings together experts across oncology specialties, including surgery, radiation oncology, imaging and interventional oncology, to develop and test innovative approaches for patients with localized and advanced cancer.
Launched in 2023, the PBTP focuses on the unique challenges of developing and evaluating procedure-based therapies and optimizing their role within multimodality cancer treatment. The program advances research in areas such as minimally invasive and endoscopic surgery, brachytherapy, ablation, image-guided interventions, wearable monitoring technologies, and implantable drug delivery systems. It also explores the growing potential of advanced imaging and image analysis to develop biomarkers that can help predict outcomes, guide treatment decisions, and personalize care.
Bringing disciplines together
Innovation in procedure-based cancer care requires close collaboration of specialists across many disciplines in oncology. The PBTP believes in a multidisciplinary approach by connecting surgeons, radiation oncologists, diagnostic and interventional radiologists, medical interventional specialists, biostatisticians, regulatory experts, and patient partners to design and conduct rigorous clinical research.
The program works across the Alliance to integrate procedure-based approaches with disease-focused research, translational science, cancer control, and statistics and data management. This multidisciplinary collaboration helps ensure that new procedures and technologies are evaluated not in isolation, but as part of comprehensive strategies to improve patient outcomes.
The PBTP includes four scientific committees:
- Interventional oncology working group: Advances minimally invasive and image-guided approaches to cancer treatment.
- Imaging committee: Develops and integrates imaging science, biomarkers and advanced imaging technologies into clinical research.
- Radiation oncology committee: Advances radiation therapy-based approaches and their integration into multimodality cancer treatment.
- Surgery committee: Develops and evaluates innovative surgical approaches and strategies to optimize the role of surgery in cancer care.
A focus on meaningful patient impact
The program’s mission is to improve the lives of people with cancer through the multidisciplinary collaboration needed to develop and rigorously evaluate innovative procedures, devices and procedure-based approaches to cancer management.
Principal Investigator and Director
Alliance Program-Based Therapy Program
Isabelle Bedrosian, MD
Professor, Department of Breast Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center