Pictured from left to right: Dori Holnagel, MBA, Vice President Hoag Family Cancer Institute, Carol and Dennis Berryman, and Steven Grossman, MD, PhD, Grace E. Hoag Executive Medical Director Endowed Chair, Hoag Family Cancer Institute, at the unveiling of the Dennis & Carol Berryman Hospitality Lounge at the Patty & George Hoag Cancer Center in Newport Beach.
When Dennis Berryman learned he had a pancreatic tumor, he didn’t realize how serious it could be. Thanks to early detection and timely intervention at Hoag—made possible by philanthropic investment in advanced care and research—he received excellent care. Today, he is cancer-free. Stories like his underscore why donor support is vital in accelerating research that saves lives.
Many pancreatic tumors, including those like Dennis’s, begin quietly—often developing from pancreatic cysts long before symptoms appear. These cysts are becoming increasingly common, a trend Hoag physician Robert Selby, MD, calls a “silent public health concern.” Most are discovered incidentally, and while many are benign, a significant percentage have the potential to progress to cancer. Nationally, an estimated 12–17% of pancreatic cancers may arise from cysts—yet physicians still lack reliable tools to determine which cysts are dangerous and which can be safely monitored. This uncertainty often leads to delayed diagnosis, missed opportunities for early intervention, or unnecessary operations.
Hoag is working to change that. Since 2006, the Hoag Pancreatic Cyst Surveillance Program has enrolled nearly 4,000 patients—making it the largest and longest-running dataset in the world focused on pancreatic cyst evolution. Thanks to philanthropic investment from Hoag Innovators, a group of philanthropists, entrepreneurs, and community leaders who are dedicated to catalyzing innovation at Hoag, 400–500 new patients are added yearly, providing an unmatched longitudinal view of cyst behavior, with a dataset that includes deeply detailed variables, including genetic and biomarker information and long-term outcomes.
Research led by Dr. Selby and Hoag’s multidisciplinary hepatobiliary and pancreatic team is directly grounded in this dataset and is advancing the science in ways the field has not seen in decades. Two major publications are currently in development that carry potential for both assessment and treatment innovations.
Under the leadership of Steven Grossman, MD, PhD, Grace E. Hoag Executive Medical Director Endowed Chair, Hoag Family Cancer Institute, researchers are also advancing new ways to detect pancreatic cancer earlier and more accurately. This includes developing blood tests as well as sophisticated imaging approaches that help physicians better interpret scans and identify which cysts are most likely to become cancerous. Early detection blood test development is led by Michael Demeure, MD, MBA, Otis Healy Family Endowed Chair in Applied Genomics and the precision medicine team as part of a larger NIH funded multi-institution grant. Together, this work is moving Hoag closer to highly personalized risk assessment, ensuring each patient receives care tailored to their individual biology and risk profile.
If a patient comes to Hoag with a pancreatic cyst, the team can offer advanced, data-informed surveillance grounded in decades of research. High-risk cysts can be identified earlier, enabling timely surgical intervention when disease is still localized. Lower-risk cysts can be monitored safely and precisely, reducing both uncertainty and unnecessary procedures.
Dennis Berryman’s path to survivorship began with early detection and comprehensive care at Hoag. Diagnosed with a small pancreatic tumor, he received his oncology care and chemotherapy at Hoag and describes the experience as “exceptional from day one,” noting the kindness, professionalism, and reassurance provided by the care teams at every step. Berryman credits early intervention, outstanding care, and an unwavering mindset. “A positive attitude makes a real difference,” Dennis says.
Philanthropy is essential to improving early detection for one of the deadliest cancers, which is typically diagnosed far too late. Inspired by the care they experienced at Hoag, Dennis and his wife established an endowed gift to advance pancreatic cancer research and early detection. Their philanthropy supports the infrastructure behind this work—from maintaining and analyzing decades of patient data to developing predictive tools and blood-based tests that help physicians identify risk earlier and more accurately. “If my experience and our gift can help even one more person get through it,” Berryman says, “that’s what matters most.”
By turning decades of data into predictive tools and innovative diagnostics, Hoag is transforming both individual outcomes in our community and the broader landscape of care around the world.
To learn more about supporting cancer research at Hoag, please contact Heidi Saravia, Executive Director of Development, at 949-764-7238 or Heidi.Saravia@hoag.org.
