Social drivers of health such as geographic distance, travel burden, or limited availability at specialized patient centers bar many eligible patients from receiving first-line, potentially curative therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Community cancer centers in particular often struggle to offer CAR T, due to the extensive resources required to safely maintain a CAR T program: emergency department access, intensive care unit resources, and inpatient admission availability.

In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with 2026 ACCC Innovator Award winner Andrew Dalovisio, MD, Director of the Myeloma, Lymphoma, and Cellular Therapy Program at Mary Bird Perkins, about how his team successfully launched the first fully outpatient CAR T-cell therapy program for select blood cancers in the Baton Rouge region. For other community cancer centers interested in developing a similar program, Dr. Dalovisio stressed the importance of identifying both a physician and administrative champion to navigate the process in a dyad partnership.

"Less than one in five patients who meet indications [for CAR T-cell therapy] even get a referral. We can talk about how wonderful all these medicines we have are, but if they're not getting to the patients that need them, [they're] not serving [their] purpose." – Andrew Dalovisio, MD

Guest:

Andrew Dalovisio, MD

Director, Myeloma, Lymphoma, and Cellular Therapy Program

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Resources:

• ACCC 43rd National Oncology Conference

• 2026 ACCC Innovator Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

• Designing a Safe, Fully Outpatient CAR T-Cell Program in the Community

• CAR T-Cell Therapy Insights from the Field

• Rising to the Occasion: The Impact of Outpatient CAR T-Cell Therapy at the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network

Where a person lives in the United States significantly influences both the quality of
the cancer care they receive and their treatment outcomes. With a growing mortality gap
between patients living in urban and rural areas and a distinct struggle for patients in rural
communities to afford their care, implementing thoughtful, targeted outreach in rural areas has
never been more important.

In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with 2026 ACCC Innovator Award winner Theresa W.
Gillespie, PhD, MA, FAAN, Professor and Associate Director for Community Outreach and
Engagement at Winship Cancer Institute, about her program's Embedded Community Staff
model, which provides funding to community partners that hire local individuals who are deeply
familiar with their communities, their needs, and their resources.

"It's a beautiful partnership. The people in the communities have the knowledge and superb expertise of their own community, and then we can provide the funding and oversight." –

Theresa W. Gillespie, PhD, MA, FAAN

Guest: Theresa W. Gillespie, PhD, MA, FAAN

Professor and Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia

Resources:

• ACCC 43rd National Oncology Conference

• 2026 ACCC Innovator Winship Cancer Institute

• Local Staff, Lasting Impact: A New Model for Rural Cancer Prevention

• Primary Care Meets Cancer Prevention: Insights From Sanford World Clinic – Ghana

• From Fatigue to Function: Redefining Rural Cancer Care Through Exercise Oncology

• Shared Solutions for Rural Oncology: Insights Across the Americas