Breaking Barriers in Rare Cancer Care: Dr. Maluccio on Advancing Treatment, Research, and Hope

A cancer diagnosis is life-changing, but for patients facing a rare cancer, the journey can feel even more isolating. With fewer specialists, less widely known treatment options, and limited resources, it’s easy to feel lost in the uncertainty. But in the face of these challenges, groundbreaking research and innovative clinical trials offer hope — expanding possibilities where few existed before.

Dr. Mary A. Hobbs-Maluccio has dedicated her career not only to treating rare cancers like neuroendocrine tumors but also to reshaping the landscape of care for marginalized and underserved patients. Through cutting-edge treatments, her research is proving that, even in the most complex cases, there are always options.

Dr. Maluccio’s story shares her inspiration for fighting cancer, the latest advancements in rare cancer treatment, and what every patient should know about the future of cancer care.

Personal Loss to Pioneering Research: A Journey Into Rare Cancer Research

When Dr. Maluccio was in medical school, she lost her mother to breast cancer. This experience shaped Dr. Maluccio’s understanding of the challenges patients face, strengthening her desire to help others navigate difficult diagnoses.

“The good, the bad, and the ugly experiences of watching her suffer really gravitated towards my nature to try to help people through the darkest times of their life,” she recalls.

Her interest in oncology eventually shifted into a passionate career centered on surgical oncology and programmatic development.

"Programmatic development is really just bringing together multiple subspecialties – all with a passion to raise the floor for patients with cancer and often cancers that are dark and problematic,” she explains.

Her focus on rare cancer stems from a desire to reach populations that have a more difficult time accessing care for a range of reasons.

“I was very interested in patients that are marginalized and disenfranchised. They struggle because of barriers of access, socio-economic status, rural environment, and education,” she explains. “But people with unusual cancer diagnoses, including neuroendocrine, are inherently marginalized because, unless you were raised professionally in that environment, you won't understand the nuances of caring for those patients. That is ultimately what brought me to this job.”

Neuroendocrine tumors start in neuroendocrine cells, which are similar to nerve cells and hormone-producing cells. These tumors are rare, but they can occur anywhere in the body. Most often, they occur in the lungs, appendix, pancreas, small intestine, and rectum.

When someone is diagnosed with a more common cancer, like breast cancer or prostate cancer, treatments are standard. According to Dr. Maluccio, rare cancers demand more patient-specific care.

“That's a part of being disenfranchised. You are just outside of normal access,” she explains. “So the unusual cancer diagnosis really does need that advocacy.”

How Clinical Trials Pave the Way for Cancer Research and Improved Care

Clinical trials are a critical aspect of Dr. Maluccio’s research and the care plans of many patients.

While clinical trials are key to advancing treatment options for rare cancers, helping to save the lives of countless patients moving forward, they benefit current patients just as much. In the South, especially rural areas and within underserved populations, clinical trials provide treatments that might be otherwise unavailable due to financial and geographical barriers.

What’s more, clinical trials offer treatment that is highly specialized to the patients taking part in them. Despite the misconception that trials are experimental, they’re highly relevant to eligible patients. “They are 100% relevant to this diagnosis. Your eligibility for it means that it is 100% relevant to you,” Dr. Maluccio explains.

Clinical trials benefit all kinds of cases. Dr. Maluccio recalls one patient, who is a nurse, who was experiencing a lot of fatigue and other symptoms from a neuroendocrine tumor.

“He had to let his nursing license lapse because he just couldn't keep up with it,” she says. “So he comes from out of state, from Georgia, all the way here for one of the radioisotope clinical trials. He was one of the people that got an awesome clinical response, and he reinstated his nursing license.”

Sometimes, the improvement comes in the mode of administering the medicine. “There are other patient stories whose symptoms were really bad. They went on to a clinical trial, live in a rural area, and all of a sudden, now they're on an oral formulation of a drug that used to be an injectable. Their symptoms are better, and they aren't shackled or going broke from travel.”

Clinical trials play a crucial role in expanding access to cutting-edge treatments, improving patient care, and driving medical breakthroughs. Looking ahead, Dr. Maluccio is eager to launch several promising studies, including two innovative radioisotope trials and a novel drug trial aimed at improving outcomes for high-risk patients.

Breaking New Ground: The Latest Advancements in Neuroendocrine Tumor Treatment

Neuroendocrine tumor treatments have evolved rapidly, bringing new hope to patients with this complex and rare cancer. Innovations like theranostics and targeted therapies are transforming care, offering more precise and effective options beyond traditional surgery.

"Theranostics is probably the most promising FDA-approved treatment,” explains Dr. Maluccio. A nonsurgical treatment, “theranostics” is a combination of the words “therapy” and “diagnostics.” It finds cancer cells in the body and destroys them using targeted radiation powered by radioisotopes, or unstable variants of elements. As the radioisotopes become more stable, they release radiation.

“It's an infusion of radiation therapy that uses a radioactive particle and infuses it in like little cars with a radiation particle on top. It searches for these types of tumor cells and latches onto the receptor. The tumor is just dumb enough to swallow it like a whale, and it causes DNA damage on the innards of the cell,” Dr. Maluccio explains.

LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center is home to the largest theranostics program in the South. “A lot of our clinical trials are on the use of novel radioisotopes. We were only one of four centers in the entire United States that had that available,” she says. “For people in this part of the country with a marginalized cancer diagnosis, to be able to get that type of cutting-edge therapy is what I think is the most rewarding aspect of my job.”

While exciting changes in cancer treatment are already happening, there’s much to look forward to in the next decade. For instance, biomarkers (molecules found in blood or other bodily fluids and tissues that show signs of an abnormality or disease) promise more personalized and refined treatment strategies. “That way, you could look at people's blood and you would be able to understand whether someone is either more likely to respond or fail to respond to a certain type of therapy,” Dr. Maluccio explains.

Thanks to strong research collaborations among LSU LCMC Health Cancer Center, partnering institutions, and national investigators, cancer treatment may look vastly different – and more effective – in this lifetime, offering hope to countless individuals affected by rare and common cancers alike.