Howard University Cancer Center partners with tech platform to expand access to advanced treatments for African American cancer patients

(Press Release) – The Howard University Cancer Center and technology platform, Driver are working together to expand access to advanced therapies for cancer patients receiving care at Howard University Hospital (HUH), in Washington, D.C. This joint effort will seek to match African American cancer patients to cancer clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

“Howard University’s Cancer Center serves a population that is around 90 percent African American. For many of the cancers that we commonly treat, this group has some of the highest mortality rates of any racial or ethnic groups,” says Carla D. Williams, Howard University associate professor of medicine and public health and interim director of the Howard University Cancer Center. “Working with Driver and the NCI increases the efficiency of providing our community with access to cutting-edge treatment options. This brings these treatments within reach of people who otherwise might not have access.”

Clinical trials offer patients access to leading physicians in the field of cancer research, breakthrough medicines, and potentially groundbreaking treatment interventions before they are widely available to the public. African Americans have largely been underrepresented in the areas of clinical trial research due to a myriad of factors that includes socioeconomic issues and a continuous cloud of mistrust of medical research. These factors impede access to promising cancer therapies, greatly reducing patient survivability compared to other ethnic groups.

Driver is a global technology platform that connects cancer patients to the best treatments, enabling any patient to access treatment options across an unprecedented network of cancer centers. Driver’s platform utilizes a combination of proprietary software and hardware to extract information from patients’ medical records and tumor samples in order to match patients to specific treatments.

“Driver’s mission is to empower every individual to access the best cancer care, regardless of someone’s background, location, or circumstances,” said Petros Giannikopoulos, co-founder and president of Driver. “We believe every cancer patient deserves the best treatment, and that’s why we launched Driver for All, an initiative to bring Driver’s technology and treatment access to communities, which historically have had some of the least access.”

Through Driver for All, Driver has been working closely with Howard University Cancer Center oncologists to screen HUH cancer patients for treatments at the NCI. Driver utilizes its core treatment-matching technology to analyze each patient’s medical records and match them to eligible NCI trials. Driver’s platform is expected to help to increase the visibility of clinical trials to a community that may otherwise have minimal exposure to potentially available NCI treatment options.

About Driver: Based in San Francisco and Shanghai, Driver is a technology platform that connects cancer patients to treatments and knowledge, all over the world, to get more life. With an app for the patient and an app for the doctor, Driver’s platform enables any cancer patient, regardless of their location, to access treatment options that are available at Driver’s network of partner centers without leaving home. Driver’s partner network includes over 30 of the world’s top cancer centers, including the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Chinese National Cancer Center. Other members of Driver’s network include the Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, University of California San Francisco, Stanford, University of California Los Angeles, Duke, Emory, University of Pittsburgh, and Massachusetts General Hospital.

About Howard University Hospital: Howard University Hospital (HUH) is one of the most comprehensive healthcare facilities in the Washington Metropolitan area. HUH holds a rich tradition of leadership and service that dates back to 1862. HUH is designated as a DC Level 1 Trauma Center and the nation’s only teaching hospital located on the campus of a historically Black university. HUH physicians are nationally recognized for their commitment to excellence, innovative training and patient care in a multitude of specialty areas. For more information, please visit http://huhealthcare.com.

Source: Howard University