Breast-cancer campaign supports clinical trials, early detection research at Center and UW

Brief

Through a partnership with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Macy's, a department store with more than 400 stores nationwide, is advancing breast-cancer research with a recent donation of $250,000 to the Hutchinson Center's Drs. Julie Gralow and Peggy Porter.

The grant will support research on chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer and the discovery of proteins to help detect breast cancer early, while it is still curable.

"We are proud to partner with other Macy's divisions throughout the country in supporting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation's 'For the Love of Her Life' campaign," said Dan Edelman, chairman and CEO of Macy's Northwest. "At Macy's, we believe in giving back to our communities. We value our partnership with the Foundation and are proud to support the work of Drs. Gralow and Porter toward saving women's lives."

Gralow, a clinical oncologist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, leads a national clinical trial involving 6,000 women with early stage breast cancer that aims to prevent future bone metastases, in which cancer spreads into the bones, with drugs called bisphosphonates. These drugs are most commonly used to treat osteoporosis. Patients can enroll in this study, called S0307, at sites throughout North America. More information is available at www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials.

Gralow is associate professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and associate head of the Breast Cancer Program at the Center, where she is an investigator in the Clinical Research Division. She is also medical director, team physician and co-founder of Team Survivor Northwest, an exercise and fitness program for women cancer survivors. A leader in breast-cancer prevention and treatment, Gralow is known for her efforts to enhance the quality of life for women undergoing cancer therapy.

Gralow also leads a new local study for patients with advanced breast cancer that is investigating a drug that targets the glucose/insulin/metabolism pathways of the tumor cell — a totally new approach to treatment. The UW is one of only two sites in the nation with access to this agent, called an insulin-like growth factor receptor antibody.

"We are becoming increasingly aware that the combination of genetic and molecular changes that turn normal cells into cancer cells are different in every patient," Gralow said. "By evaluating these changes in each individual tumor, we hope to be able to predict response or resistance to certain classes of chemotherapy. We're thrilled that Macy's and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation have chosen to support this important research."

Porter, a pathologist and head of the Center's Breast Cancer Program, will use the funds to help discover new protein-based biomarkers, or biological indicators, of increased breast-cancer risk.

"This generous gift allows us to apply newly developed methods for efficiently testing promising new biomarkers in large numbers of tumors collected in clinical trials," Porter said. "These studies will help us determine if there are specific tumor characteristics that might help guide therapeutic decisions or lead to the development of new targeted therapies. Researchers nationwide will be able to use the resources we are developing to test hypotheses and answer clinical questions that could positively affect all breast-cancer patients."

Porter is a member of the Center's Human Biology and Public Health Sciences divisions and she is also an associate professor of pathology at the UW School of Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding the role that cell growth and cell death play in the development and progression of cancer. Much of her research is devoted to discovering new markers, or biological indicators, of increased cancer risk.

Grant funds were raised through a Macy's and Estée Lauder partnership, called the "For the Love of Her Life" campaign, during October 2004. During that time customers could purchase an exclusive pink ribbon bear or an exclusive fragrance collection. All proceeds from the sale of the fragrances and 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the bears benefited The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. This October, the campaign raised an additional $300,000, which will be dispersed next fall to support other breast-cancer research projects.

The Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative clinical and genetic research. It supports scientists and leading medical centers worldwide whose research is focused on preventing and a curing for breast cancer. A minimum of 85 cents of every dollar donated to the Foundation goes directly to research and awareness programs.

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