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- Posted Thursday July 12, 2012
The Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation Contributes $10 Million to TGen for Glioblastoma Research, Clinical Trials
Arizona philanthropist Catherine (Bracken) Ivy keeps her focus on those diagnosed with brain cancer
The Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation has awarded $10 million
in grants for two groundbreaking brain cancer research projects at
the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).
One $five-million-project is titled "Outliers in Glioblastoma
Outcome: Moving the curve forward." This five-year investigation
seeks to discover why approximately two percent of glioblastoma
multiforme (GBM) patients - the outliers - live far beyond the
average survival time of 18 months. GBM is the most common and
aggressive form of malignant primary brain tumor; 98 percent of
people diagnosed with GBM live less than 18 months.
"A major challenge with brain cancer is that people survive such a
short time," said Catherine (Bracken) Ivy, founder and president of
The Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation. "If this research enables
patients to live longer, clinicians and researchers will gain a
better understanding of how this disease works, which will bring us
time to move closer to a cure."
"The tireless and dedicated support of programs like the Ivy
Foundation is helping transform ideas into medical reality," said
TGen President and Research Director Dr. Jeffrey Trent.
(Left to right) Dr. David Craig, TGen's deputy director of
bioinformatics; Catherine (Bracken) Ivy, founder and president of
The Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation; and Dr. John Carpten,
TGen's deputy director of basic science.
By precisely identifying the billions of molecular building blocks
in each patient's DNA through whole genome sequencing, TGen
researchers hope to discover the genetic differences between those
patients who survive only a few months, and those who survive
longer because their brain cancer develops more slowly.
Using these genetic targets, TGen researchers will identify those
patients most likely to benefit from the current standard of care,
and those who might best benefit from alternative or new
experimental treatments.
"If we can identify patients who will likely only survive a few
months on current standard of care regimens we can then prioritize
those patients for personalized clinical trials," said Dr. David
Craig, TGen's deputy director of bioinformatics and one of the
project's principal investigators.
First-in-Patient Clinical Trial Studies
In the second $five million project, "Genomics Enabled Medicine in
Glioblastoma Trial," TGen and its clinical partners will lead
first-in-patient clinical trial studies that will test promising
new drugs that might extend the survival of GBM patients.
This multi-part study will take place in clinics across the
country and TGen laboratories.
This project begins with a pilot study of 15 patients, using whole
genome sequencing to study their tumor samples to help physicians
determine what drugs might be most beneficial.
To support molecularly informed clinical decisions, TGen labs also
will examine genomic data from at least 536 past cases of
glioblastoma, as well as tumor samples from new cases, developing
tools that will produce more insight into how glioblastoma tumors
grow and survive. TGen also will conduct a series of pioneering lab
tests to measure cell-by-cell responses to various drugs.
"We expect to identify genes that play a crucial role in this
cancer's survival and that may be crucial to the survival of other
types of cancer as well," said Dr. Michael Bittner, co-director of
TGen's Computational Biology Division.
To get new treatments to patients as quickly as possible, this
five-year study will include a feasibility study involving up to 30
patients, followed by Phase II clinical trials with as many as 70
patients. TGen intends to team with the Ivy Early Phase Clinical
Trials Consortium that includes: University of California, San
Francisco; University of California, Los Angeles; the MD Anderson
Cancer Center; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; University
of Utah; and the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.
The results of these clinical trials should not only help the
patients who join them, but also provide the data needed for FDA
approval and availability of new drugs that could benefit tens of
thousands of brain cancer patients in the future.
"Working with physicians, the project will aim to get new drugs to
patients faster, deliver combinations of drugs that might be more
effective than using a single drug, quickly identify which
therapies don't work, and accelerate discovery of ones that might
prove promising for future development," said Dr. John Carpten,
TGen's deputy director of basic science, director of TGen's
Integrated Cancer Genomics Division, and another of the project's
principal investigators.
In addition to helping patients as quickly as possible, the
projects should significantly expand Arizona's network of brain
cancer experts.
"It's a tremendous opportunity to find more solutions for the
patient diagnosed with brain cancer," said Ivy, who also is working
to establish additional clinical trials in the Phoenix area, giving
local patients more treatment options. "The clinical trials are
very exciting because they can impact the patient today."
Ivy's Commitment to Brain Cancer Research
Ivy has investigated research institutions nationally and
internationally, learning everything she can about how to cure
brain cancer. She is determined to help find better treatment
options and improve the quality of life for patients with brain
tumors.
Because brain cancer is rare compared to many other cancers, it
does not receive as much media attention, government funding or
pharmaceutical industry support. Standard treatment involves
removal of the tumor, though surgery fails to get all of the
cancer. Surgery is followed by radiation and chemotherapy using a
drug with limited effect for most patients. There currently is
little else that can be done to extend life expectancy.
The status quo is not acceptable to Ivy. More than anything, she
said, the Ivy Foundation wants to instill hope and solutions for
people diagnosed with brain cancer.
The Ivy Foundation's overarching goal over the next seven years is
to double the life expectancy of brain cancer patients from 18 to
36 months. And in working with TGen, Ivy said she has found three
key values that align both organizations:
- Patient-focused research.
- Conducting the best research possible in a cost-effective manner.
- Making progress immediately.
"I hope that people with brain cancer and brain tumors know that
there is a community of people working very hard to try and help
them," Ivy said. "We're not saying we're going to cure it tomorrow,
but at least we're moving the needle. We will never give up until
we find a cure.'
# # #
About The Ben & Catherine Ivy
Foundation
The Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation, based in Scottsdale,
Ariz., was formed in 2005, when Ben Ivy lost his battle with
glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Since then, the Foundation has
contributed more than $50 million to research in gliomas within the
United States and Canada, with the goal of better diagnostics and
treatments that offer long-term survival and a high quality of life
for patients with brain tumors. The Ben & Catherine Ivy
Foundation is the largest privately funded foundation of its kind
in the United States. For more information, visit
http://www.ivyfoundation.org. We have regular updates via social
media - please find us on:
Blog: Ivy Foundation http://www.IvyFoundation.wordpress.com
Facebook: Ivy Foundation
http://www.facebook.com/IvyFoundation
Twitter: @IvyFoundation https://twitter.com/IvyFoundation
Google+: Ivy Foundation
https://plus.google.com/115330378249248717618/posts
LinkedIn: Ivy Foundation
http://linkedin.com/company/the-ben-and-catherine-ivy-foundation
YouTube: IvyFoundationGBM
http://www.youtube.com/user/IvyFoundationGBM
About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a
Phoenix-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting
groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at
TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer,
neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of
translational research where investigators are able to unravel the
genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with
collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen
believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency
and effectiveness of the translational process. For more
information, visit: www.tgen.org.
Press Contacts:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]gen.org
Beth McRae
The McRae Agency
480-990-0282
[email protected]
