Hackensack Meridian John Theurer Cancer Center First in State to Launch a Comprehensive Program to Prevent and Pre-empt Cancer at its new Hennessy Institute for Cancer Prevention and Applied Molecular Medicine

HMH Partners with CancerIQ to Provide Screening and Early Detection-the key to Prevention and Improved outcomes

Hackensack Meridian Health’s (HMH) John Theurer Cancer Center today announces the launch of its cancer risk and early cancer detection program, designed to better identify the risk of cancer in individuals and enable earlier diagnosis.

The new program is offered at HMH’s Hennessy Institute for Cancer Prevention and Applied Molecular Medicine (HICAP) located at the recently established Cancer Center at Totowa on the St. Joseph’s Health campus in Totowa, NJ, and will expand to its headquarters in our new ambulatory facility in Clifton, New Jersey near Hackensack Meridian’s School of Medicine and Center for Discovery and Innovation in early 2025.

The HMH network is the first in New Jersey to offer this comprehensive, early detection and cancer risk management, joining a few programs in the nation in the broader endeavor of conducting cancer screening at scale, and cancer interception. The venture is a partnership between HICAP and CancerIQ, a best-in-class cancer-focused precision health platform, to launch a groundbreaking new program that aims to improve access to inform cancer risk care, shift cancer diagnoses to earlier stages, and reduce cancer burden at scale.

It is well established that earlier diagnosis translates into better outcomes. For example, the 5-year survival for cancers such as pancreatic and lung - typically diagnosed late - goes from 10-15% in advanced stage cancer to over 80-85% survival in early stage. In addition, roughly 10% of all cancers are hereditary with known genetic risk factors. Having a family history of cancer can increase someone’s personal risk of developing the disease.

It is now demonstrated that cancer cells can release in the blood very early on pieces of genetic materials (from DNA or RNA) that can be detected through what is now referred to as blood testing or liquid biopsies. These new developments in molecular cancer screening in the blood have the potential to help with early cancer detection or detection of persistent minimal residual cancer cells (after treatment).  This offers new opportunities and help in intercepting cancer (prevent occurrence, detect earlier or prevent recurrence).

“This cutting-edge program we are offering at our new Hennessy Institute helps us fulfill a promise that we have made to transform health care and to be the leader of positive change, by improving the health of all of our communities,” says Robert C. Garrett, FACHE, CEO of Hackensack Meridian Health. “This novel risk assessment means literally helping to prevent people from getting cancer, or if they already have it, to improve their outcome by diagnosing it at an earlier stage as well as preventing the risk of recurrence. We are thankful to the Hennessy family for their incredible donation and for their passion for helping to fight cancer.”

Individuals will complete a short but comprehensive cancer risk assessment from CancerIQ, an oncology-focused precision health platform. The easy-to-use tool asks people simple questions about their personal and family medical history as well as lifestyle factors. If the assessment flags a patient as having a higher risk of cancer, team members will personally speak with the person about their options and design a personalized plan for early cancer detection and prevention.

“This new program opens an entire new field in cancer, from preventing cancer in someone with genetic risk factors, to detecting cancer earlier and reducing cancer recurrence,” said Andre Goy, MD, MS, chairman and executive director of John Theurer Cancer Center. “Combining technology, genomics and AI, our goal is to intercept cancer—including in underserved communities—by bringing new tools to people’s homes with a user-friendly platform to navigate their risk factors and prevention or treatment options.”

Serving New Jersey and the surrounding area, the Hennessy Institute has physicians, nurse practitioners and genetic counselors as well as navigators and researchers working in partnership with the CancerIQ platform.

“Our patients have the chance to take charge of their health and ensure their wellness. This program is for everyone, because we all want to know how to better equip ourselves to live long healthy lives,” said Elias Obeid, MD,MPH, HICAP medical director, who is a medical oncologist specializing in genetics and cancer risk

"Hackensack Meridian Health is a true leader in its population health approach to precision cancer prevention and early detection," said Feyi Ayodele, CEO, CancerIQ. "It’s an honor for CancerIQ to be selected to support precision cancer prevention at this scale. This kind of transformational change is exactly why we exist — to help everyone get ahead of cancer, no matter their personal risk.”

The free assessment tool is open to the public and can be taken here.