Carle Illinois College of Medicine’s Dr. Megan Hutchcraft is advancing the frontiers of gynecologic cancer care—transforming how these often-complex diseases are detected, treated, and ultimately prevented. A professor at CI MED, Hutchcraft integrates cutting-edge research with compassionate clinical practice to reduce the burden of cancers affecting the female reproductive system.

As a practicing gynecologic oncologist at Carle Health and a dedicated mentor to medical students at CI MED, Hutchcraft is shaping both science and future physicians. Her work focuses on cancer risk-reduction, engaging patients with proven prevention strategies, and training medical students to be both excellent clinicians and physician-innovators committed to far-reaching impact.

“Gynecologic oncology is a really special area where I get to meet patients when they’re super vulnerable,” she said.

Hutchcraft’s expertise equips her to provide evidence-based, accurate information. “A lot of people have a notion that cancer is a death sentence. Hearing the ‘c word’ is really scary. One of my jobs is to educate people about the natural process of cancer. I can be their guide and navigate them through their cancer journey, through diagnosis, treatments, and ultimately for the rest of their lives,” she said.

“We’ve made so many huge research improvements over the last several decades that now we have drugs that could potentially help patients who were looking at a super-shortened life to possibly be cured. Getting that information to patients is not only uplifting but accurate information.”

Researching risk reduction

Hutchcraft’s clinical work and her extensive research background converge to advance care for patients whose heredity puts them at a high risk of high risk of cancer of reproductive system, including the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and cervix. Scientists have established that people with certain genetic mutations found in other cancers (including breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancer) are also vulnerable to developing reproductive system cancers. Many of these high-risk patients undergo pre-emptive surgeries to lower their risk.

To offer new insight into how this strategy plays out in the clinical setting, Hutchcraft teamed up with several CI MED students on a new study. Sanskruthi (Priya) Guduri says the project aims to unearth data on the use of risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy [removal of both fallopian tubes and the ovaries to reduce the risk of developing gynecological cancer] among certain at-risk patients. 

“It’s a very exciting project with a lot of impact because if we are able to find trends in care for patients with these genetic mutations, we will be able to make a big statement about how to best adhere to the guidelines regarding their gynecological care,” Guduri said.

The study is in its early stages, but Hutchcraft hopes for improved outcomes for at-risk patients. “The potential impact is that this could help to give more information to general gynecologists and gynecologic oncologists like myself about ways that we can improve, to make sure we’re following the surgical and pathologic recommendations for these patients with extremely high risk for cancer,” she said. 

An ounce of prevention

On a larger scale, Hutchcraft believes routine genetic testing for all cancer patients could help reduce the number of new gynecologic cancers diagnosed each year. Germline genetic testing–blood tests to detect genetic mutations – may reveal hereditary risk factors for cancers that haven’t previously been identified, she said. “So we need to find those patients and then get them the preventative services to keep them from getting new cancers, whether that’s vaccination against human papillomavirus, or making sure that they’re up-to-date with their cancer screening. Then there’s cascade testing for their family members. That may reduce the overall burden of cancer if we are able to do that.”

Hutchcraft spreads the prevention message on social media channels like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok, to reach a new generation of patients. “We’re probably missing out on a big population of young people who are potentially at risk for cancer in their future, or family members that they may have. We want to make sure that they get accurate information on these social media platforms. There’s a lot of misinformation out there, and we, as physicians, should be empowered to find ways that we can use that platform to help patients and their families make better decisions,” Hutchcraft said.

Mentoring tomorrow’s research clinicians

As a physician and surgeon with a strong research background, Hutchcraft is uniquely prepared to advance medical research by mentoring CI MED students who will be future leaders in obstetrics and gynecology. “Research is what moves medicine forward; it’s how we’ve been able to cure cancer, and it’s really exciting. It’s a really a good time to get involved with that in medical school, when the mind is so excited about the different things they’re learning,” she said.

CI MED’s clinical research mentor program fuels student/clinical faculty research collaborations around common interests. Their work has produced field-advancing research published in top professional journals.

Guduri says working closely with Hutchcraft on the risk-reduction research project helped bolster her interest in gynecologic oncology and hone her research skills. “I was someone who decided to do OB/GYN late. She really took me in and guided me on how to move forward on my career aspirations,” she said.

Student Ameek Bindra came to CI MED with a data science background. In her first year at CI MED, she teamed up with Hutchcraft on a project to develop machine learning tools to improve the diagnosis of endometrial cancer in younger women and women of color. “CI MED is such an interdisciplinary program, and having clinical mentors like Dr. Hutchcraft has helped us bridge our individual academic and technical backgrounds into real clinical contexts. It’s helped me see how my skillset can be applied in ways that are both practical and impactful,” Bindra said.

Editor’s note:

Click here for more information on CI MED’s Clinical Research Mentor program or contact the Office of Student Research.

At Carle Health, Dr. Megan Hutchcraft is affiliated with the Carle Cancer Institute and serves as the associate director of the Carle Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program.

This story was written by Beth Hart. Video production was completed by Virgil Ward. Photography was taken by Kaden Rawson.