In addition to serving the immediate needs of individuals with breast cancer, we are also focused on working to create a future free of this terrible disease. The Breast Cancer Relief Foundation is very proud to have a program that supports Breast Cancer Research. Each year, our Breast Cancer Research Program awards specialized grant funding to pioneering researchers in their endeavors to investigate and develop new and alternative treatment options for women with breast cancer. This seed funding allows cutting-edge ideas to be pursued with the hope of making the ultimate breakthrough. We are committed to supporting research so that a cure for breast cancer will one day become a reality. Our goal is to increase research funding to include more of our many outstanding research institutions and universities across the nation. We need your financial support as we identify worthy breast cancer research projects needing funding to hasten the day when a cure and prevention of this terrible disease are found. 
The following is a list of research projects we have recently funded:
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center received a research grant from The Breast Cancer Relief Foundation to support the groundbreaking work of Dr. Anthony Lucci, Jr. on breast cancer metastasis. Research has revealed that breast cancer tumors send cells to the blood and bone marrow early in the disease, but doctors have never had the information and understanding in place to identify micrometastases in their cancer patients. Through his research, he is now able to successfully profile micrometastatic cells and identify new targets to prohibit metastasis. He explains that “early detection of micrometastases represents a completely novel approach, in which the risk of recurrence could be determined from the presence of cancer cells in the blood and bone marrow, and treatment decisions could be based on the specific characteristics of the micrometastatic disease…Therefore, eradication of micrometastases— before they can become clinical metastases—is essential to improve outcomes in breast cancer.”
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center received a TBCRF research grant to support the Breast Specimen Repository and Registry. This Repository and Registry provides scientists with high-quality, data-rich breast and blood samples that meet the detailed requirements of their research. Specimens from the repository are intended to enhance ongoing research projects and enable new avenues of inquiry to further the research being conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute received a grant award from The Breast Cancer Relief Foundation for their Cancer Genetics Program. These funds support the Cancer Family Registry, which is a comprehensive registry and specimen bank to facilitate multidisciplinary research related to cancer risks faced by individuals who carry a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. The Cancer Family Registry collects demographic data, tissue specimens as well as blood and urine samples from high risk families for research studies to identify additional susceptibility genes for breast cancer. Research studies of the development of cancer in high-risk families can have implications for understanding the disease process in sporadic breast cancer and underscores the need for comprehensive resgistries and tissue banks.
Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center received a significant research grant from TBCRF to support Dr. Leisha Emens’ research on the use of therapeutic vaccination regimens and related studies for breast cancer. The title of her research is “Vaccine-Induced Antibody Responses for Biomarker and Target Discovery.” Ronald J. Daniels, President, Johns Hopkins University, writes, “This philanthropy fuels new discoveries that will help patients both here in Baltimore and throughout our nation. Your foundation’s contribution to Dr. Emens’ work helps us to develop groundbreaking advances in the treatment of breast cancer, and I am grateful for your commitment to Johns Hopkins Medicine.”
Tulane University School of Medicine/Tulane Cancer Center received a research grant to support Dr. Brian Rowan’s research on a new drug treatment for triple negative breast cancer from the completed Phase I clinical testing to Phase II trials. Dr. Rowan has a long and impressive background in breast cancer research and academic medicine. This drug holds promise for triple negative breast cancer patients who have not benefited from chemotherapy.
The American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO) Cancer Foundation received research funding from TBCRF to support a Young Investigator Award in the area of breast cancer research. This research is designed to encourage and promote high-quality research in clinical oncology by providing funds to promising investigators during the transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment.
