New article from IBC Research Foundation

sideout

The below article is in the June 2010 issue of the IBC Research Foundation Newsletter.

A Connection Between Volleyball & Breast Cancer Clinical Trials?

By, Ginny Mason, RN, BSN
Executive Director, ibcRF

In spite of improvements in the treatment of breast cancer there are still those patients with disease that doesn't respond to standard medical treatment. Such patients are left with few, if any, options. They could opt for a clinical trial but most clinical trials compare one chemotherapy regimen to another, perhaps adding a new drug to the mix in hopes of improved progression free survival. Such trials are useful but seldom offer significant benefit to the metastatic patient who has been through numerous treatment regimens.

At last year's ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) meeting, conversation buzzed after the results of the Bisgrove Study were presented. This study "showed that molecular profiling can identify specific treatments that help keep cancer in check for significantly longer periods, and in some cases even shrinking tumors." The cancer community was fueled with a new hope for personalized medicine.

Clinical trials exploring personalized medicine options are expensive and challenging to implement. Enter the Side-Out Foundation (www.side-out.org), a non-profit developed in 2004 by a group of volleyball enthusiasts who also share a passion to stop breast cancer. In a recent conversation Bryant Dunetz, COO of the Side-Out Foundation, shared how Side-Out developed. His wife, Gloria, was dealing with a recurrence of breast cancer and her situation was affecting the whole family. Their son Rick, a high school volleyball coach, was especially concerned about his mother and decided to share her story with the team. In response to the story, the girls doubled their efforts to win; not just for their coach but for Gloria who often came to watch their games. Each inspired the other with hope and courage blossoming. Rick saw the powerful connection between his mother and the team and wanted to bring that to other athletes and cancer patients. He created Side-Out to accomplish that goal.

"Side-Out in volleyball occurs when one team wins a point while its opponent is serving, thereby regaining the serve or control of play. Likewise, in the war against breast cancer, the Side-Out Foundation supports health care professionals in their pursuit of practical solutions for women and men with this dreaded disease, enabling them to regain control of their lives and live them to the fullest. Through its Dig Pink breast cancer awareness rallies at high schools and colleges across the country last October, Side-Out exceeded its $1 million goal by nearly $500,000."

The Side-Out Trial, which opened in February of this year, will enroll 25 patients with metastatic breast cancer. The trial is designed to go the "next step" from the Bisgrove Study and combines molecular profiling with mapping proteomic pathways in tumor tissue. The end result is a report, provided to the treating physician, which will provide treatment recommendations based on the specifics of the patient's tumor tissue. This trial not only identifies the presence or absence of specific known breast cancer biomarkers; but also includes the important proteomic pathways, expanding information about the tumor and potential useful therapies.

The trial is offered via two locations: TGen Clinical Research Services (TCRS) at Scottsdale Healthcare in Scottsdale, AZ; and Fairfax Northern Virginia Hematology Oncology, Fairfax, VA. Caris Life Sciences and George Mason University's Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine (CAPMM) are the two principal laboratories applying their independent technical approaches for the analysis.

Women or men with advanced breast cancer (including inflammatory breast cancer) that has progressed through three prior treatments are eligible for the trial. For specific trial criteria go to ClinicalTrials.gov.

For more details about the various partners involved in the project click here.

cwrightrn

My oncologist sent my tissue for a clinical trial that sounds a lot like this....not sure if its this one or not but what a great history!

Thanks for sharing

Carole