Lehigh Valley Health Network partnering with Philadelphia-based cancer research group

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/lehigh-county/index.ssf/2012/05/lehigh_valley_health_network_p.html FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES Cancer patients in the Lehigh Valley Health Network will be poised to receive the most cutting-edge treatments thanks to a new partnership between the health network and The Wistar Institute, officials announced this morning. The two organizations penned an agreement last week that will allow physicians at the health network to work with scientists at the Philadelphia-based institute, a research center that studies the genes that drive the growth of cancer cells. "This affiliation is an important step in our ongoing efforts ... to bring more hope and more options to people in the Lehigh Valley faced with cancer," said Dr. Ronald Swinfard, president and CEO of LVHN. An initial project is already under way between the two organizations. The project involves studying resistance to therapy in advanced melanoma, said Dr. Suresh Nair, senior medical director of oncology academic and research programs at LVHN. Thirteen local patients suffering from melanoma already are in the process of signing release forms to participate