Grant enables multi-institute team to study rare and aggressive
type of breast cancer
PHOENIX, Ariz. - Sept. 23, 2011 - The Translational Genomics
Research Institute (TGen) is part of a team of medical
investigators receiving a $3.5 million grant from Susan G. Komen
for the Cure to study triple-negative breast cancer, a highly
aggressive form of this cancer that disproportionately affects
African-Americans.
The Komen Foundation recently called for proposals from teams of
physicians and scientists called Promise Grants, multi-million
dollar, multi-year, collaborative grants aimed at answering the
most difficult questions in breast cancer and translating their
findings into outcomes that will impact patient care.
Only three teams were selected for funding for this highly
competitive program. The team leaders for this proposal are:
Dr. Jeffrey Trent of Phoenix-based TGen; Dr. Pat LoRusso of the
Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit; and Dr. Max Wicha of The
University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Other
centers collaborating on this project include the Van Andel
Research Institute (VARI) in Grand Rapids, which is TGen's
affiliate, and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
The collective expertise of these oncologists and basic scientists
will be brought to bear on this landmark translational research
study. Three specific biomarkers that are used to determine
breast cancer treatment are missing in triple-negative breast
cancer. The most successful treatment advances in breast
cancer have targeted these three markers. None of these
therapies are effective in triple-negative breast cancer.
"We hope to uncover new ways of treating this very aggressive form
of breast cancer by understanding the molecular makeup of breast
cancer stem cells," said Dr. John Carpten, Director of TGen's
Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, who is leading other
translational investigations into triple-negative breast cancer and
is a co-investigator on the new Komen study. "Our goal is to
unlock the clues as to why patients with triple-negative breast
cancer so often fail to respond to available therapies, and to
design new ways to more effectively treat this difficult form of
cancer."
Dr. Wicha, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Oncology and Director
of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, was one of the first to
identify cancer "stem cells" in solid tumors, recognizing them in
breast cancer tissue in 2003. Cancer stem cells are the small
number of cells within a tumor that continually fuel the tumor's
growth and spread, rendering the tumor resistent to today's
therapies. Many researchers believe traditional chemotherapy
and radiation treatments often become ineffective because they do
not kill the cancer stem cells, and that the key to future
treatments is to develop drugs that target and kill these
cells. Research suggests that triple-negative breast cancers
have a higher proportion of cancer stem cells.
Among women with breast cancer, triple negative breast cancer
represents about 15 percent of diagnoses in Caucasian American
women, but 26 percent in African American women and up to 82
percent in west African women. The grant proposal includes
studying tumor cells from African and African-American women to
look for molecular differences in triple-negative tumors.
Laboratory research will look at whether targeting the breast
cancer stem cells has an impact on these tumors.
"Through this research study, we will be able to provide key
insights into whether or not cancer stem cells plays a role in the
significant differences observed in death rates among women of west
African origin who are more likely to be diagnosed with, and die
from, this terrible form of cancer," said Dr. Heather Cunliffe,
Head of TGen's Breast & Ovarian Cancer and a co-investigator on
the study.
Researchers also plan to launch at least three clinical trials to
investigate new treatments that target cancer stem cells.
Based on the results of these trials, a larger randomized clinical
trial will be planned.
"TGen scientists lead by Dr. John Carpten have been at the
forefront of cancer health disparities research for more than a
decade," said Dr. Trent, President and Research Director of TGen
and VARI. "This study is at the vanguard of treatments that
are aimed at the most deadly form of human breast cancer in a this
highly vulnerable patient population."
Joining Drs. Trent and Wicha as the third principal investigator on
the grant is Dr. Patricia LoRusso, D.O., Professor of Medicine at
Karmanos. Dr. LoRusso is one of the world's leading
physicians in the development of new drugs for cancer
patients. Her major focus over nearly 20 years has been
addressing the need for new cancer treatments for women with breast
cancer, especially those of African American decent.
More than 209,000 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer
this year and more than 40,000 will die from the disease.