Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York City, NY

2006 Yearly Update from the Martell Psychological Research Laboratories at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York

By David Kissane, MD, Alfred P. Sloan Chair, Chairman, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

For over 25 years, the T. J. Martell Foundation has been instrumental in improving the lives of cancer patients and their families, through its ongoing support provided to the Martell Psychological Research Laboratories at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Jimmie Holland’s legacy as Director of these laboratories has been continued by Dr. David Kissane, Chairman of the Department, into a new era. With the move to a new location at 641 Lexington Avenue in August 2005, the Department now occupies 28,500 square feet of office, clinical and research laboratories. We have 28 academic faculty members (MD & PhD) as part of a planned expansion to a Department of 34 faculty members.

The Department structure has 6 research laboratories: Cancer Prevention & Health Promotion (Dr. Jamie Ostroff), Community Outreach & Minorities (Dr. Bruce Rapkin), Communication Skills Training (Dr. David Kissane), Observational Studies (Dr. Steven Passik), Psychotherapy Research (Dr. William Breitbart), and Neurocognitive Studies (Dr. Tim Ahles). Through these programs, we have internationally recognized research into smoking cessation, clinician-patient communication skill training, meaning-centered psychotherapy, family therapy in palliative care and bereavement, development of interventions in Harlem and Queens for African American and Hispanic communities, genetic predictors of neurocognitive effects of chemotherapy and a range of psychotropic trials. Notable research accomplishments resultant on funding from the T. J. Martell Foundation from 2005 – 2006 include:

-Dr. Karen Hurley studied a brief desensitization therapy (BDT) intervention to alleviate intrusive thoughts about cancer risk in women undergoing genetic counseling and testing for BRCA1/2 mutations. A major outcome from Dr. Hurley’s work in 2005 was her success in winning a 5-year career development award (K07) from the NCI to study the multiple risk decisions in this genomic era and how best to support decision-making processes with the complex choices available within Clinical Genetics Services today. Her K07 award was a direct result of early funding by the T. J. Martell Foundation.

-Dr. Jennifer Ford’s used a Computer-Assisted Survivor Screening (CASS) test to assess psychosocial functioning of adult survivors of childhood cancer, which can help identify those survivors with significant levels of psychological distress that might be otherwise overlooked by health care providers. She submitted a K07 Career Development Grant application to the NCI arising from her Martell Research.

-As part of the new Communication Skills Training and Research Laboratory, Dr. Richard Brown is investigating the range of communication styles oncologists use to discuss clinical research trials with their patients and explore the communication styles that most benefit patients’ satisfaction. Data collection will be completed by the end of 2006, followed by analysis of the data and preparation of reports and publication.

-Dr. Andrew Roth and Christian Nelson completed the validation of the Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer, a questionnaire to study anxiety specific to men with prostate cancer. The questionnaire is reliable and met criteria for validation. Men with unstable or changing PSA scores (regardless of direction) had higher anxiety levels than those with steady PSA levels. Dr. Nelson’s current study looks to establish the psychometric properties (measuring mental traits) of the Memorial Anxiety Scale for Prostate Cancer in African-American men with prostate cancer and to explore the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders as well as overall quality of life in African-American men with prostate cancer. They will be able to determine if additional questions generated from focus groups with African-American men strengthen the psychometric properties of the MAX-PC in this sample. Dr. Nelson’s work enabled him to win an R03 award from the NCI to study the impact of androgen ablation therapy for prostate cancer on cognitive functioning, including memory, processing of decisions and higher executive functioning.

-Dr. Jeanne Carter’s studied the psychosexual and quality of life concerns in women undergoing a new surgery called trachelectomy as treatment for early-stage cervical cancer. Analyses have shown extraordinarily high rates of concern about infertility, leading women to choose Trachelectomy (rather than hysterectomy) to preserve their ability to carry pregnancies.

-With funding provided by the Martell Foundation, Dr. David Lounsbury has completed the development and preliminary testing of a survey instrument to help answer his research questions. Specifically, the areas under examination are: the proportion of primary care physicians who encounter cancer survivors in their practices; the assessment of primary care physicians’ current understanding of common medical late effects, risks of second primary cancers, and risks of disease recurrence for cancer survivors; the description of existing communication patterns and referral between primary care physicians and other providers involved in the care of cancer survivors; and the determination of what additional information, training, and resources primary care physicians require in order to optimize the quality of post-treatment care for cancer patients.

Referrals of individuals or family members associated with the T. J. Martell Foundation who are having difficulties coping with cancer are encouraged to call the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center at 1-646-888-0100 for an appointment.