Dawn Hershman, MD, MS

2008-2009 BCRF Project:
More than two million women living in the United States today are breast cancer survivors. Current cancer therapies have resulted in improved survival for many cancer patients, but long-term cancer survivors often experience health problems that may be treatment-related. Furthermore, the identification of minority groups at increased risk of adverse effects will help to focus further research and intervention efforts.

Over the coming year, Dr. Hershman will begin three new projects: (1) The first is a new phase II clinical trial of Omega-3 fatty acid on joint symptoms induced by aromatase inhibitors. (2) The second proposal uses a large administrative database (SEER-Medicare) to evaluate patters of use, over-use and toxicity of IV bisphosphonates in women with metastatic breast cancer. (3) Finally, Dr. Hershman and colleagues will expand on a recently initiated randomized prospective evaluation of a Survivorship Intervention in improving the quality of care, treatment satisfaction and understanding of care in Latina and Caucasian breast cancer survivors treated in an urban academic medical center.

Bio:
Dr. Dawn Hershman is Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in the Division of Medical Oncology and has completed a Masters of Science in Biostatistics with an emphasis on patient oriented research, at the Mailman School of Public Health. She received her MD from The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, then trained in internal medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center where she served as Chief Resident, then completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology/Hematology.

She is now the Co-Director of the Breast Program for the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has an interest and expertise in the area of health outcomes research with a specific interest in supportive care, racial disparities in quality of care and breast cancer survivorship. She has developed a program to understand and prevent both short and long-term complications of cancer therapy. Using epidemiologic methods she has characterized factors that predict cardiac and bone-marrow toxicity. Using cross-sectional and prospective cohort study designs her team is working on a variety of projects to characterize taxane neuropathy, joint pain from aromatase inhibitors, needs and concerns of cancer survivors and cognitive changes associated with treatment.

Dr. Hershman has several ongoing and recently funded multicenter randomized trials to prevent treatment induced osteoporosis, joint pain and stiffness, neuropathy, and the prevention of second primary breast cancers. She is actively involved in survivorship research through the Southwest Oncology group, where she serves as co-chair for the Committee on Health Disparities and Outcomes Research. In addition to her grant from BCRF, she is also PI on grants from the American Cancer Society, DOD, ASCO, NCI and the Komen Foundation.