{"id":368501,"date":"2026-08-11T16:06:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/368501\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T16:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:06:07","slug":"state-of-florida-invests-2-million-to-expand-fius-personalized-cancer-treatment-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/368501\/","title":{"rendered":"State of Florida invests $2 million to expand FIU\u2019s personalized cancer treatment program"},"content":{"rendered":"

A $2 million investment from the Florida Legislature will expand FIU\u2019s\u00a0Functional Oncology Rapid Cancer Elimination (myFORCE) Program<\/a>, giving more cancer patients access to personalized treatment recommendations based on how their own tumor cells respond to FDA-approved therapies.<\/p>\n

As part of the FIU Center for Advancing Personalized Cancer Treatments (CAPCT), myFORCE\u00a0is dedicated to finding the right treatment for each individual patient by testing therapies directly against that patient\u2019s own cancer cells.\u00a0Led by\u00a0FIU\u2019s\u00a0Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work<\/a>\u00a0professor and researcher\u00a0Diana\u00a0Azzam<\/a>, the program is designed to help physicians\u00a0identify\u00a0effective \u2014 and often\u00a0less toxic \u2014 treatment options for patients whose cancers have returned, resisted\u00a0treatment\u00a0or exhausted standard therapies.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery family deserves hope in the fight against cancer, and I am proud to have secured this funding to support FIU\u2019s Functional Oncology Rapid Cancer Elimination (myFORCE) Program, an initiative advancing personalized treatment options for pediatric and adult cancer patients,\u201d said Florida state Senator Alexis Calatayud. \u201cBy investing in groundbreaking research here in Miami, we are empowering scientists to accelerate lifesaving discoveries and transform the lives of families across Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

Azzam\u2019s research first gained national attention through a clinical study conducted with Nicklaus Children\u2019s Hospital. Researchers tested tumor samples from children with difficult-to-treat cancers against more than 120 medications. In results published in\u00a0Nature Medicine<\/a>, 83% of the patients who received treatments guided by\u00a0Azzam\u2019s\u00a0approach\u00a0showed improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am proud to have secured $2 million in funding for Dr. Azzam and FIU\u2019s Functional Oncology Rapid Cancer Elimination (myFORCE) program,\u201d said Florida state Representative Omar Blanco. \u201cThese funds will provide personalized treatment options for pediatric and adult cancer patients across our community. This cutting-edge technology positions Florida as a global leader in precision oncology, and I\u2019m proud to have fought for the resources that make it possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The\u00a0state appropriation will support\u00a0the program\u2019s core operations, including\u00a0the clinical and laboratory teams, supplies and data analysis. It will also expand\u00a0the\u00a0center\u2019s clinical trials network\u00a0and\u00a0open the door to larger,\u00a0multi-institutional studies positioning\u00a0Florida as a global\u00a0leader in functional precision oncology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply grateful to Representative Blanco, Senator Calatayud, and the Florida Legislature for their investment in\u00a0Dr. Azzam\u2019s\u00a0innovative cancer research that gives\u00a0patients and families hope when conventional treatment options have run out,\u201d said FIU President Jeanette M. Nu\u00f1ez.<\/p>\n

Azzam\u00a0is\u00a0a national leader in functional precision medicine. The approach goes beyond analyzing a tumor\u2019s genetic characteristics: Her team collects living cells from a patient\u2019s cancer and exposes them to FDA-approved drugs and drug combinations to\u00a0determine\u00a0which treatments appear most effective against that individual tumor.<\/p>\n

The findings are shared with the patient\u2019s oncologist, who\u00a0determines\u00a0whether they can help guide treatment decisions. The approach\u00a0is especially valuable for patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant cancers, who often have limited options and little time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis funding gives us the capacity to move into the next phase of our work, strengthen the infrastructure needed to serve more patients and continue building the evidence behind this approach,\u201d Azzam said. \u201cWe are incredibly grateful to\u00a0our Florida legislators\u00a0for investing in\u00a0the future of cancer treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt its core, Dr. Azzam\u2019s work reflects the mission of public health: using science to improve outcomes, expand access and help innovative care reach the people who need it most,\u201d said Tom\u00e1s R. Guilarte, dean of the Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A $2 million investment from the Florida Legislature will expand FIU\u2019s\u00a0Functional Oncology Rapid Cancer Elimination (myFORCE) Program, giving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-368501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}