Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Advanced cancer patients come to Cancer Commons terrified and overwhelmed. They have exhausted the standard of care and many have failed previous trials. Cancer Commons advances the proposition that for even the most vulnerable patients, longer life expectancy and better quality of life are attainable
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Cancer Commons
By tightly coupling clinical research and customized patient care and by bringing real-world data to the front lines of cancer research, we help advanced cancer patients and their physicians collectively explore the latest and best treatment options far more efficiently than they can as individuals.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of families served in cancer treatment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Chronically ill people, Terminally ill people, People with other disabilities, People with physical disabilities, Low-income people
Related Program
Cancer Commons
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
By tightly coupling clinical research and customized patient care and by bringing real-world data to the front lines of cancer research, we help our patients and their physicians collectively explore the latest and best treatment options far more efficiently than they can as individuals.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Long before COVID-19 changed the face of medical care, Cancer Commons built our processes around the existing fragmented healthcare system. We refer patients to our own Virtual Tumor Boards—panels of scientists and experts practicing at elite cancer centers and academic institutions across the nation—who assess patients’ treatment history, clinical, radiological, and molecular information. We then provide patients with a detailed treatment options report that may include clinical trials, promising off-label treatments, and/or expanded-access or compassionate-use treatment programs.
Cancer Commons’ process is faster and more comprehensive than seeking opinions from individual experts and reduces the amount of time required to assess the best options. Cancer Commons Virtual Tumor Boards meet regularly to review patient cases, either synchronously by video conferencing or asynchronously online. For patient data that are completely assembled, a consensus can be reached—
and a report delivered—within a week.
Contrast this with the usual, time-consuming process of seeking individual second (and third) opinions in person. The patient/caregiver must provide medical records to each individual expert; the expert must review medical records, radiology data, and pathology slides then provide responses; patients may be required to travel to another institution, in another state or even cross-country, in order to obtain that opinion or screening for clinical trials. Having to go through all of these steps significantly delays treatment, especially during the pandemic.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Cancer Commons has built and grown strategic collaborations with organizations and experts at the forefront of their specialties to expand our capacity to generate clinically actionable insights and help advanced cancer patients obtain the best possible outcomes while accelerating knowledge acquisition:
• Eric T. Wong, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, Co-Director of the Brain Tumor Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and a Neuro-Oncology affiliate member of Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center joined Cancer Commons as the Medical Director for Brain Cancer.
• Under the direction of Dr. Wong, we established the Brain Cancer Commons Collaboration with the Musella Foundation for Brain Cancer Research to reach more patients and provides information on personalized treatment options to patients with advanced brain cancer who have exhausted standard therapies.
• Shaalan Beg, MD, MSCS, Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Medical Director of the Clinical Research Office at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, became part of Cancer Commons as the Medical Director for Pancreatic Cancer.
• Under the direction of Dr. Beg, we have engaged in formal partnerships with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and Let’s Win! Pancreatic Cancer in preparation to launch a Pancreatic Cancer Perpetual Trial that will complement traditional clinical trials and tightly integrate clinical research and clinical care.
• Cancer Commons patients who would otherwise not have access to tumor molecular profiling will be able to access this critical tool at no cost to them, via our partnership with TEMPUS— a technology company that has built the world's largest library of clinical and molecular data—or PanCAN’s Know Your Tumor program.
• We are increasing outreach and providing potentially life-extending help to more patients with the most dire diagnoses across all cancer types by expanding our partnership with the American Cancer Society, the largest voluntary health organization in the world.
• Cancer Commons sponsored a dedicated patient and advocate track at the 17th annual Precision Medicine World Conference (PMWC) in Silicon Valley. PMWC is the largest and original annual conference dedicated to precision medicine in the world. It featured 400 speakers and engages 2,500+ attendees, including top global researchers and medical professionals and innovators from across healthcare and biotechnology sectors.
• Cancer Commons developed a new website this year that clearly articulates the value of our services to patients and physicians. In addition to the website, we continue to develop patient content and third-party publications to educate patients and physicians about actionable insights.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our virtual, distributed approach helps many patients receive advanced treatments close to home and ensures researchers can continue to get the data they need to validate novel treatments. Our team provides navigation services, research of personalized treatment options, and Virtual Tumor Board services to give patients a comprehensive plan that includes best treatment options, access to those treatments, and monitoring over time.
In July 2020, Cancer Commons redesigned our website to clearly articulates the value of our services to patients and physicians. In addition to the website, we have continued to develop patient content and third-party publications to educate patients and physicians about actionable insights.
From the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, especially during the months of shelter-in-place, many people put off seeking medical care (including cancer screenings). By July of 2020, we started to see a dramatic increase in the number of patients turning to us for help.
By the end of the Fiscal Year, we would ultimately see a 166% increase in number of website visitors and a 74.5% increase in number of patients Cancer Commons was able to serve.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
CANCER COMMONS
Board of directorsas of 12/07/2022
J. Martin Tenenbaum, PhD
Cancer Commons
Laurence J. Marton, MD
American Association for Cancer Research Foundation (Emeritus)
Gladys H. Monroy, PhD, JD
Morrison Foerster
Edgar D. Staren, MD, PhD, MBA
Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Vern Norviel, JD
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
David D. Daly, MD
Cellworks
Paul Billings MD, PhD
Biological Dynamics, Inc.
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data