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A Message from Dr. Love
I am so excited that I can finally tell you this news!
Six months ago, the Foundation began speaking with the National Cancer Institute about a possible collaboration with the Love/Avon Army of Women. Now, after many meetings and memos, I am beyond thrilled to let you know that this new partnership will indeed be moving forward! Here’s the story:
In 2004, the National Cancer Institute launched an initiative called the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG) to help advance cancer research. Some people have referred to caBIG as the “worldwide web of cancer research” and that truly is a great way to describe what it is and what it aims to do: it’s an information network that will speed up the pace of cancer research by providing a virtual home where investigators can collect, analyze, and share data.
I hadn’t given too much thought to how the Foundation could work with caBIG until we launched the Love/Avon Army of Women—and then I had a brainstorm (well two)…
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Hot Topics
We’re pleased to let you know that the proceedings from our 6th International Symposium on the Intraductal Approach to Breast Cancer have been published in BioMedCentral and are now available on line. You will find the meeting report:
State of the Science and the Intraductal Approach for Breast Cancer: Proceedings Summary of The Sixth International Symposium on the Intraductal Approach To Breast Cancer Santa Monica, California, 19–21 February 2009 here. A single PDF containing all of the abstracts is available here.
At the close of the Symposium, the Foundation awarded $84,000 in research pilot grants to support 8 research studies. You can learn more about our 2009 grantees and their research here.
The 7th Annual Symposium will be held in Santa Monica, California, in 2011. Please send any questions or comments about the Symposium to research@dslrf.org
In June, researchers presented data at the American Society for Clinical Oncology annual meeting from a phase II trial that showed women with metastatic breast cancer who received chemotherapy along with a drug called a PARP inhibitor were 65% less likely to have a relapse and 60% less likely to die of their disease than women who received chemotherapy alone.
The same investigators are now conducting a phase III trial in women with metastatic triple negative breast cancer. It is a multi-center randomized trial that will assess the effectiveness of the PARP inhibitor when combined with gemcitabine and carboplatin (GC). The trial will enroll 420 patients. Half will be randomized to receive GC and the PARP inhibitor. The other half will receive GC alone. Importantly, the trial will have a crossover provision. This means that patients assigned to receive GC alone will be able to get the PARP inhibitor if their disease progresses. You can learn more about this trial here.
You can find a full list of all the clinical trials open to women with triple negative breast cancer here.
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Cause for Love
 What could be better than hearing Dr. Love and watching some amazing women play basketball?
Dr. Love will be the honorary coach at the LA Sparks game at the Staples Center court on Tuesday, August 25th! Dr Love speaks at 6:40; game time is 7:00pm. Making the game even better: A portion of the ticket sales will benefit the Foundation!
Don’t miss seeing Dr. Love when the LA Sparks take on the Chicago Sky! Buy your tickets NOW. Use code “love” to ensure your ticket purchase benefits the Foundation!
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Research Update
The Foundation is studying the effect of pregnancy on breast tissue. We are looking for 10 Los Angeles-area women who had their first child AFTER the age of 35 who have not been pregnant in the last 5 years for this study. To participate, you must be able to come to our Santa Monica office. Volunteers will be compensated $100 for their time. You can learn more about the study here.
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Therese Black