Bay Area Researchers Will Try To Turn Off Genes To Treat Aggressive Breast Cancer

Bay Area Researchers Will Try To Turn Off Genes To Treat Aggressive Breast Cancer
Main Category: Breast Cancer
Also Included In: Genetics
Article Date: 03 Aug 2010 - 4:00 PDT


Bay Area scientists will see if they can turn off a specific gene to treat an aggressive form of breast cancer that accounts for 25 percent of all breast cancer deaths, with funding announced today by Susan G. Komen for the Cure(R), the global leader in the breast cancer movement.

The $600,000 grant to UC-San Francisco is part of $2.8 million in research funding that Komen for the Cure is investing in California medical institutions this year alone as part of Komen's $59 million portfolio of global research grants for 2010.

The UCSF research is aimed at triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive form of the disease that strikes in just 15 percent of breast cancer cases but accounts for 25 percent of all breast cancer deaths.

"We've made huge progress in 30 years, but we have a tremendous urgency to deliver better and more effective treatments, especially for aggressive cancers that are so serious and difficult, like triple negative breast cancer," said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

In all, Komen will award nearly $1.4 million in grants to Bay Area research facilities, including the University of California at San Francisco and Stanford University's School of Medicine.

"Komen's infusion of millions of dollars into research projects means that promising research that is designed to treat and ultimately eradicate breast cancer will continue," said Eric Winer, M.D., Komen's chief scientific advisor.

Komen by the Numbers in California:

-- Since 1994, Komen has awarded more than $47 million in research in California, part of the $450 million in research globally that Komen has funded since 1982.

-- In addition to research funding, Komen's seven California Affiliates spent $10 million in their local communities last year for early detection and treatment programs, breast health education and outreach.

-- Nationwide, Komen Affiliates invested a total of $130 million in their local communities last year.

-- During the past 28 years, Komen has funded more than $900 million in community education and support programs worldwide.

Below is the local institution, the researcher and the projects Komen is funding this year, pending agreements:

Stanford University, School of Medicine

*Michael Clarke, $180,000-Functional Analysis of the DLK1-GTL2 Imprinted Region in Breast Stem Cell Differentiation and Tumorigenesis

University of California at San Francisco

*Andrei Goga, $600,000-Therapy of Receptor Triple-Negative Breast Cancers By Targeting the MYC Oncogene *Michael McManus, $180,000. Identification of Breast Cancer Achilles' Heels Within Genomic Dark Matter: Long Noncoding RNA

Buck Institute for Age Research

*Christopher Benz, $600,000 - Decoding Estrogen Receptor Posttranslational Modifications to Predict Risk and Treatment

Source:
Maria Sousa
Susan G. Komen for the Cure(R)
Bay Area Researchers Will Try To Turn Off Genes To Treat Aggressive Breast Cancer