Spring 2010 A publication for friends of MD Anderson
Making Cancer History
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The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care MD Anderson’s Logo Gets New Look Battle Results Are In Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistor yCampaign.org
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The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care For almost seven decades, philanthropy has fueled cutting-edge cancer research and nurtured innovative patient care programs at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Researchers and clinicians at MD Anderson continue to redefine the standard of cancer care across the globe. Underscoring the institution’s world-class reputation is its No. 1 ranking in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent “America’s Best Hospitals” survey as the nation’s top hospital for cancer care, for the sixth time in eight years. Today, the challenge is to seize opportunities and strive toward continued advances in diagnosing, treating and preventing cancer such as personalized therapies and gene-based strategies. Again, philanthropy plays a central role. With the launch of the $1 billion Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care, MD Anderson embarks on an unprecedented journey of discovery.
Philanthropic Goals Through December 2011 $135 million: Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer (Completed: South Campus Research Initiative) $325 million: Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy – $150 million Institute for Basic Science – $75 million Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment – $50 million Institute for Cancer Care Excellence – $25 million McCombs Institute – $25 million $100 million: Facilities $100 million: Endowment $340 million: Priority Programs TOTAL: $1 billion
“This ambitious campaign will harness MD Anderson’s infrastructure, expertise and resources to address key aspects of every component of a cancer patient’s experience,” says John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of MD Anderson. “The goal is to ‘transform cancer care.’ With sustained support, it’s within our grasp.” A Bold Idea and Its Beginnings Several years ago, MD Anderson began a series of Research Strategy Retreats during which faculty and leadership created a pioneering concept to transform cancer care. Their idea was to create collaborative institutes of excellence in which researchers and clinicians would work across disease sites and departments in centers delineated along specific research themes. MD Anderson established the Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer, where the institute model (see page 3) has been hugely successful. MD Anderson’s executive leadership extended this model to the entire continuum of cancer care, from prevention, to diagnosis and treatment and throughout survivorship (see pages 4 and 5). From this idea, the $1 billion Campaign to Transform Cancer Care emerged. Unparalleled Expertise MD Anderson is one of the world’s most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. More than 96,000 patients sought MD Anderson’s expertise in Fiscal Year 2009. Multidisciplinary care centers offer access to the largest cancer clinical
trials program in the nation. In FY2009, for example, more than 11,000 MD Anderson patients took part in 1,000-plus clinical trials exploring novel therapies and diagnostic tests. MD Anderson is first in the number and dollars of research grants awarded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The institution holds 12 NCI Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) awards, more than a third of those granted nationally. SPOREs contribute more than $100 million to translational research in leukemia,
melanoma, lymphoma, and breast, prostate, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, bladder, head and neck, uterine and brain cancers. MD Anderson also distinguishes itself through an outstanding track record in drug development. During the past two years, clinical trials at the institution tested 17 new drugs originally developed at MD Anderson. It also tested dozens of new drugs from pharmaceutical companies. Over the past decade, the institution has obtained 366 patents and entered into 233 license agreements, and its discoveries were the basis of 12 new companies. Garth Powis, D. Phil., director of the Center for Targeted Therapy at the McCombs Institute, says it’s “the most promising and exciting time for cancer research I’ve seen in many years.” “MD Anderson has a long history of being able to put drugs into the clinic, Photo by Eli Gukich
2 Promise spring 2010
A publication for friends of MD Anderson
The Time Is Now The need for philanthropic support is urgent as researchers race to apply new genetic and molecular knowledge and the latest technologies to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Through the Campaign to Transform Cancer Care, MD Anderson will continue to lead the way. Private support provides the leverage MD Anderson needs to obtain the highest levels of NCI and pharmaceutical industry support. The current economic climate, however, has made such funds less available. Philanthropy will reinforce efforts to recruit top faculty, win additional peer-reviewed grants and state funds, secure research contracts with leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and construct state-of-theart facilities. The time to help researchers and clinicians translate findings into tangible treatments is now, says Edward S. Kim, M.D., principal investigator for the first round of BATTLE (Biomarker-based Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination) clinical trials. “I feel we’re on the cusp of some very important discoveries,” says Kim, of the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Oncology. “We rely on philanthropic support to sustain the teams we have in place to keep research like this going. And now is probably the most critical time to be involved.”
Institute for Cancer Care Excellence
Intervention
Prevention
Division of Quantitative Sciences
and it’s one of the very few academic institutions in the country that can do this,” says Powis. “We encourage our investigators to find cancer-causing proteins so we can develop drugs targeted to them. There’s less chance of toxicity with a much greater therapeutic benefit. We have the tools to bring this promise to patients rapidly and effectively.”
Diagnosis Treatment
Risk Assessment Screening Counseling Treatment
Risk Assessment Screening Counseling Treatment
Cancer Care Cycle
Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment
McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer
Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy
Institute for Basic Science
Transforming Cancer Care Through Research The cancer care cycle shown above represents a continuum of prevention and risk assessment, diagnosis and therapeutic intervention and survivorship. This organizational model has been tested for the past five years at the Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer. Its seven collaborative centers of excellence target an array of translational research themes: metastasis, immunotherapy, molecular markers, advanced biomedical imaging, targeted therapy, proton therapy and a new frontier in cancer research, RNA interference and non-coding RNAs. Each center brings together faculty with unique skills and technologies across department affiliations. MD Anderson bases this concept on the knowledge that scientific discovery
A Message From John Mendelsohn The World Health Organization predicts that this year cancer will surpass heart disease as the leading cause of death across the globe. At MD Anderson, we’re determined to stop that trend. Our mission is to eliminate the threat of cancer worldwide. We’ve organized institutes of excellence that bring together researchers and clinicians from different disciplines and diverse backgrounds to focus on questions such as: How do we produce vaccines that can prevent cancer? How do we detect cancer earlier? How do we jumpstart the body’s immune system to destroy tumors? At MD Anderson, we’re finding the answers and bringing them to the bedside where they can benefit patients as quickly as possible. Funding from the National Cancer Institute and other governmental sources provides John Mendelsohn, M.D. only a fraction of the dollars we need to fuel this effort. That’s why philanthropy is so important. MD Anderson’s $1 billion campaign is destined to transform the way we detect, treat and even prevent cancer. We’re already at more than 75 percent of our goal, thanks to the generosity and commitment of people who share our vision and our mission. Thank you for supporting Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care. Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistor yCampaign.org
Survivorship
emerges from many interlocking ideas generated by a variety of disciplines. Such an environment enables researchers and clinicians to focus on key aspects of every component of a cancer patient’s experience, from molecular analysis to diagnosis and treatment to improvements in health care delivery. Philanthropic support has a central role in this comprehensive plan, enabling basic scientists, biostatisticians, pharmacologists, epidemiologists, clinicians and a host of others to work together and quickly seize opportunities that mean hope for patients now and in generations to come. The concept already has achieved exceptional results in translational research at the McCombs Institute.
Promise
John Mendelsohn, M.D. PRESIDENT
Eli Gukich DESIGNER
Patrick B. Mulvey VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT
Victor Scott Contributing Writer
Stephen C. Stuyck VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS DeDe DeStefano ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATIONS Sarah Watson EDITOR
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Development Office - Unit 705 P.O. Box 301439 Houston, TX 77230-1439 713-792-3450 800-525-5841 www.mdanderson.org/gifts Promise@mdanderson.org This publication was not printed at state expense.
On the cover: Cancer survivor Barbara Padilla performs operatic selections at a Feb. 18 event launching Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care. See pages 6 and 7 for more details. Photo by Fulton Davenport 3
Campaign Objectives Institute for Cancer Care Excellence Goal: $25 Million Using U.S. Institute of Medicine criteria, MD Anderson is creating the first comprehensive model for quality of care for cancer patients. MD Anderson’s Institute for Cancer Care Excellence is a hospitalbased clinical program focused on quality improvement, patient safety and clinical outcomes in clinics and inpatient units. This institute will identify new ways to improve patient care by developing systems that will deliver safe, timely, efficient, effective, equitable and patientcentered cancer care. Research funding is almost nonexistent for studying and measuring results of improvements in clinical results, quality of life, safety and cost reduction as well as differences in incidence and outcomes among diverse populations. Philanthropic support for the Institute for Cancer Care Excellence will help MD Anderson expand technology to support medical decision-making, implement team-learning systems, build a simulation center and export cancer care to affiliates in a way that ensures the institution’s quality is maintained. Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer Goal: $25 Million The McCombs Institute focuses on translating basic science discoveries about genes and molecular pathways into new diagnosis and treatment strategies targeting these key genes and pathways. The institute was named for Red and Charline McCombs in recognition of their generous $30 million gift to launch the $135 million philanthropic program that created it. New funding for the McCombs Institute F. O’Neil Griffin, with wife Gena in front of the conference will support activities at and education center bearing his name at the McCombs Institute, committed $3 million to the South Campus the Cancer Metastasis Research Initiative in August 2007, enabling MD Anderson Research Center; the to reach its philanthropic goal three years ahead of schedule. Photo by John Everett Center for Cancer Immunology Research; the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Center for Molecular Markers; the Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research; the Center for Targeted Therapy; and the recently established Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNAs, which focuses on a new field of study that is one of the most active research areas in molecular oncology today. Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care
*as of March 31, 2010
4 4 Promise Promisespring spring2010 2009
$787,047,422 *
$1,000,000,000
Raised to Date
Goal
Photo by Eli Gukich
Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment Goal: $50 Million Since creating the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences in 1994, MD Anderson has become an acknowledged international leader in the field of cancer prevention. MD Anderson’s program encompasses basic science, clinical cancer prevention, epidemiology and health disparities research, all of which are expanding and becoming integrated through the new Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment. This institute was named for the late Dan Duncan and his family in honor of their landmark $35 million gift. Their generosity continues to propel the expansion of MD Anderson’s prevention program through an additional recent $15 million gift. The Duncan Family Institute will expedite the transfer of research discoveries in prevention, genetics and lifestyle risk factors to the clinical arena. A new clinical center for personalized risk assessment will take advantage of MD Anderson’s research discoveries and the most modern laboratory and imaging technologies. The plan for patient services includes comprehensive genetic risk assessment, counseling on lifestyle changes and the latest technologies in cancer screening. MD Anderson will continue to offer clinical trials in chemoprevention to people at high risk of developing cancer. Institute for Basic Science Goal: $75 Million The goal of basic laboratory research in cancer is to understand how normal cells work and what happens when cancer develops. MD Anderson’s outstanding record of basic research achievements feeds directly into clinical research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment. To capitalize on recent discoveries and new technologies, the institution will integrate faculty into several basic science research centers of excellence that target areas most critical to advancing knowledge about cancer: cancer genetics and genomics, epigenetics, stem cell and developmental biology, biomolecular structure and function, environmental and molecular carcinogenesis, biological pathways and inflammation. Uniting these promising avenues of research in the Institute for Basic Science will improve collaboration and innovation. Plans are to recruit several internationally recognized scientists who will strengthen or lead new basic research centers and promote their success in making major scientific discoveries.
AApublication publicationfor forfriends friendsof ofMD MDAnderson Anderson
Philanthropy
in Act ion
Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy Goal: $150 Million
An Endowment for MD Anderson Goal: $100 Million
The new Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy (IPCT) will encompass all of the clinical divisions and departments that participate in MD Anderson’s highly successful multidisciplinary care centers. Several centers in the McCombs Institute will be involved in major collaborations. Physician-scientists in the IPCT will test genes and molecules in a patient’s cancer prior to initiating therapy. Armed with this information, they will select new treatments that target the particular abnormalities detected in that individual’s cancer. A newly Photo by John Smallwood expanded clinical pathology laboratory will facilitate these studies to make clinical decisions in a timely manner. This promising research depends on grants and philanthropy since government or private payers for clinical care will support innovative projects only when proven that they work. A portion of campaign funds will go toward a much-needed expansion of resources that support MD Anderson’s clinical trials, such as the institution’s Phase I Clinical Trials unit, the Clinical and Translational Research Center, the Pharmaceutical Development Center, the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Facility, and the Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine in Bastrop, Texas.
A priority of the campaign is to grow MD Anderson’s total endowment fund to $1 billion. Thanks to generations of supporters, the endowment lacks only $100 million to reach this goal. Income from MD Anderson’s endowed chairs, professorships and fellowships, the George and Barbara Bush Endowment for Innovative Cancer Research and the Caroline Wiess Law Endowment powers the institution’s ability to recruit and support talented physicians and scientists. A new focus for endowment funds will support training the next generation of cancer research specialists. MD Anderson has developed an ambitious plan to ensure that current graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are given every possible opportunity to pursue successful careers in academic cancer research and that training programs continue to attract premier candidates. The endowment will support scholarships for The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, providing stipends and fellowships as well as awards for scientific meetings and career development. Endowment funds also will support the Odyssey Program, the Advanced Scholars Program and the Physician-Scientist Program, each designed to help protect and enhance the future of cancer research.
Priority Programs Goal: $340 Million Among numerous programs and projects of strategic importance to the institution are:
Facilities Goal: $100 Million United by common goals and collaborative activities across MD Anderson’s 9 million-square-foot campus, many of the proposed centers and institutes will not require a central physical site. As demands for cancer care and long-term follow-up care for survivors increase, however, and as the need to develop and test molecularbased therapies expands, the institution will create new facilities and renovate existing ones. Through this continuous reinvestment MD Anderson creates functional, cutting-edge and comfortable spaces that reinforce the institution’s reputation throughout the world.
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology — a department focused on analyzing and interpreting molecular data to enhance personalized cancer medicine in all of its facets. The Children’s Cancer Hospital at MD Anderson — one of the largest multidisciplinary pediatric cancer care and research programs in the country, setting the pace in pediatric oncology worldwide. Survivorship — a major clinical and research initiative to coordinate support for cancer survivors, expand research into long-term effects of cancer and treatment and improve access to followup care. Brain Tumor Center — one of the world’s most productive efforts aimed solely at brain tumor research in areas such as immune system activation, gene analysis and treatment delivery using stem cells. Pain Program — a project to expand the Texas Medical Center’s only dedicated cancer pain research program, develop state-of-the-art pain control strategies and educate health professionals.
Recreational activities, art classes and more take place at the Hoglund Foundation PediDome at the Children’s Cancer Hospital at MD Anderson.
Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistor yCampaign.org
Harry J. Longwell retired as executive vice president and director of ExxonMobil Corporation in 2004. He has generously committed his time, energy and resources in a number of capacities on behalf of MD Anderson since joining The University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors (BOV) in 1993. He currently serves as BOV vice chair.
It is an honor and a privilege to serve as chairman of Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care. Everyone is touched by cancer, whether personally or through the life of a loved one or friend. MD Anderson is the No. 1 cancer center in the world, with the best minds, the best administration and faculty, the best staff and volunteers. Inspired by the courage of patients and their families, we are united in support of the institution’s mission to eradicate cancer. Of course, having the financial resources to fulfill this promise is key. Philanthropy is essential in continuing the unparalleled research at MD Anderson and quickly making novel, lifesaving treatments available to patients. On behalf of The University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors, I extend heartfelt thanks to the hundreds of volunteers contributing to our success in reaching campaign goals and ultimately making a difference in the lives of those touched by this disease. Please visit www.makingcancerhistorycampaign.org and join us in this historical effort. Together, we are Making Cancer History®. Do you promise? Tell us why you’re committed to Making Cancer History® by sending an e-mail to Promise@mdanderson.org.
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NewsMakers Evening of Celebration Launches $1 Billion Campaign to Transform Cancer Care With more than $760 million in philanthropy already raised from volunteers and corporate supporters, including more than 160 gifts of $1 million and more, MD Anderson officially launched Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care at a dinner Feb. 18 at the Hilton Americas-Houston. Billed as “An Evening of Celebration” and later described as “a life-altering experience” by those whose hearts it touched, the evening celebrated cancer survivors and honored the memory of those who have succumbed to the disease. More than 600 MD Anderson supporters filled the hotel’s Ballroom of the Americas, draped in white chiffon to create a circular space symbolizing the circle of life. Former Miss America Phyllis George led the
program, graciously stepping in on two weeks’ notice for CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta. Gupta was slated to serve as master of ceremonies but canceled due to his participation in Haiti earthquake relief efforts. President George H.W. and Barbara Bush greeted attendees via a video message, declaring their role as campaign honorary chairs a “privilege” and describing MD Anderson as “an incredibly special place.” After the Houston Five Tenors performed “Amazing Grace,” accompanied by the St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band, a moment of silence paid tribute to all who have lost their lives to cancer. Memorial Drive Presbyterian senior pastor Rev. Dave Peterson delivered the invocation after sharing the story of his daughter’s breast cancer diagnosis a week after her wedding and her decision to be treated at MD Anderson. She and her husband rose to enthusiastic applause from the audience. Board of Visitors chair Nancy B. Loeffler of San Antonio welcomed board and Advance Team members. Campaign chair Harry J. Longwell encouraged guests to spread the word about the need for philanthropic funding for cancer research programs. Jeff Wigbels, a nonsmoking athlete from Atlanta who learned he had stage IV metastatic lung cancer the day before his son was born, gave a moving account of his experience at MD Anderson
Front row, from left: Nancy B. Loeffler; Kay Rogers; John Mendelsohn, M.D.; Nadia Jones; Jaime Rodriguez; Jason Connelly. Back row, from left: Nikita Robinson, Victoria Johnson, Harry J. Longwell, Kenneth Woo, Janice Duplessis. Photos by Pete Baatz and Fulton Davenport
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and his efforts to raise funds for lung cancer research. Soprano Barbara Padilla, of Guadalajara, Mexico, “America’s Got Talent” runner-up and a lymphoma survivor who now calls Houston home, entertained with selections by Puccini, Verdi and Schubert. As she sang the last strains of “Ave Maria,” eight patients took their places on miniature stages around the room’s perimeter. In a moving finale, the spotlight focused on survivors Jason Connelly, Janice Duplessis, Victoria Johnson, Nadia Jones, Jaime Rodriguez, Nikita Robinson, Kay Rogers and Kenneth Woo. One by one, they shared personal perspectives on the phrase “Making Cancer History,” striking out the word “cancer” with an animated red flourish on the mounted screens behind them. The tribute came full circle as Padilla said, “Thank you, MD Anderson, for Making Cancer History®,” and gave a closing rendition of “The Prayer” with Ken Gayle, one of the five tenors who performed earlier in the evening. “I’m not usually speechless,” said Mendelsohn as he returned to the stage to conclude the evening. “On behalf of everyone that’s a patient at MD Anderson, everyone who works at MD Anderson and everyone who’s a friend of MD Anderson, thank you to these incredible survivors who have inspired us tonight.” To learn more about the Campaign to Transform Cancer Care and to hear stories of hope articulated by MD Anderson patients, employees and volunteers, visit www.MakingCancerHistoryCampaign.org.
Above, from left: Board of Visitors members Tom Johnson of Atlanta, Ga., and Joan Schnitzer-Levy of Houston celebrate the moment with emcee Phyllis George of Lexington, Ky. Top left: John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of MD Anderson, welcomes supporters at a Feb. 18 dinner launching the Campaign to Transform Cancer Care.
A publication for friends of MD Anderson
Innovation Dawns in Morning of Science Progress and promise in cancer research was the focus of a “Morning of Science” held at MD Anderson Feb. 18 to kick off the $1 billion Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care. Approximately 300 MD Anderson supporters gathered for the symposium, featuring leaders in the fields of basic science, cancer prevention, personalized cancer therapy and immunology. Attendees learned about innovative ways MD Anderson is using genetic and molecular research at its institutes of excellence to advance cancer prevention, detection and treatment. They also heard firsthand from MD Anderson patient John McKemie why philanthropy is crucial to these programs. “None of these cutting-edge research and patient care initiatives would be possible without the philanthropic generosity and commitment of people like you who join us in our mission to eradicate cancer,” said John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of MD Anderson, in welcoming remarks. Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president and provost, introduced presentations by Cheryl Lyn Walker, Ph.D., professor, Department of Carcinogenesis; Scott Kopetz, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology; Ernest T. Hawk, M.D., vice president and division head for Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences; and Yong-Jun Liu, M.D., Ph.D., chair and professor, Department of Immunology. “It’s truly an exciting time for the field of cancer research,” said DuBois, describing gifts “that have already been made to our campaign” as the fuel needed to advance these efforts.
Top: The Houston Five Tenors, with the St. Thomas’ Episcopal School Pipe Band, perform “Amazing Grace.” Center photos, clockwise: Kay Rogers of Houston, a survivor of breast cancer and colorectal cancer, strikes through the word “cancer” in a moving finale. Barbara Padilla and Ken Gayle relax after their onstage performances before a crowd of more than 600 MD Anderson supporters. Campaign chair Harry J. Longwell urges guests to spread word of the Campaign to Transform Cancer Care. Above: Patrick B. Mulvey, vice president for development at MD Anderson, visits with, from left, Randa S. Safady, Ph.D., The University of Texas System’s vice chancellor of external relations, and Regina Rogers, a senior member of MD Anderson’s Board of Visitors. Photos by Pete Baatz and Fulton Davenport
Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistor yCampaign.org
Yong-Jun Liu, M.D., Ph.D., shares the latest advances in the field of immunology at MD Anderson. Photo by Barry Smith 7
AmongFriends George and Barbara Bush When we lost our first daughter to leukemia, we developed a deep resolve to eliminate cancer. We searched the nation to find an institution with the most promising efforts to end this devastating disease, a place where resources would yield the greatest results. And we found what we were looking for right in our hometown of Houston at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. MD Anderson’s landmark research already has played a major role in increasing the survival rate and improving the quality of life for cancer patients. This outstanding institution rapidly translates knowledge gained in the laboratory to patient care, thus accelerating scientific breakthroughs into personal breakthroughs, discoveries that ultimately reverberate worldwide. As honorary co-chairs of Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care, we strongly encourage you to support MD Anderson’s meaningful endeavors. Please join us as we all work together to make a significant difference now and for generations to come.
Copyright Mark J. Burns
George and Barbara Bush, honorary co-chairs: Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care
Survivors Say
Civic and community leader Nancy B. Loeffler, of San Antonio, is chair of The University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors (BOV) and serves My commitment to MD Anderson is twofold. on the Campaign to Transform Cancer Care As chair of the institution’s Board of Visitors, Executive Committee. She is on the board of I challenge anyone to find a more dedicated, directors of Southwest Airlines and is on the energized group of individuals. It’s an absolute advisory board of Frost Bank. Loeffler also is on pleasure and, indeed, an honor to lead this the boards of directors of the National Cowgirl group and serve this institution, which has such Museum and Hall of Fame, the San Antonio a crucial mission. Lighthouse for the Blind and the Blanton Nancy B. Loeffler Photo by Eli Gukich As a patient at MD Anderson, I’m committed Museum of Art at The University of Texas on a much more personal level. Hearing the words “You at Austin. She has formerly held positions on the Board of Regents have cancer” is a profoundly humbling experience. Yet of St. Mary’s University, the Capitol Advisory Committee for my journey has been made easier by people whose Texas Lutheran University and the Vice President’s Residence generosity helps support cutting-edge research at Foundation in Washington, D.C. Since joining the BOV in 1996, the institution to find new and better ways to detect and Loeffler has served as BOV vice chair and Membership Committee treat cancer. I’m deeply gratified by their dedication. I’m chair; on the Development, Institutional Initiatives and Strategic living proof that Making Cancer History® is truly within Advisory committees, and on the South Campus Research Initiative our grasp. Steering Committee.
Campaign leadership met recently at MD Anderson. From left, MD Anderson’s Thomas W. Burke, M.D., executive vice president and physician-in-chief; Ali A. Saberioon; William A. Monteleone Jr.; Ernest H. Cockrell; Melvyn N. Klein; Judy Ley Allen; Harry J. Longwell; MD Anderson’s John Mendelsohn, M.D., president; Nancy B. Loeffler; Terry Giles; Gus H. Comiskey Jr.; G. Steven Farris; and MD Anderson’s Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president and provost. Not pictured are MD Anderson’s Leon J. Leach, executive vice president; Kit T. Moncrief; MD Anderson’s Patrick B. Mulvey, vice president for development; W. Robert Nichols III; Gene Rainbolt; and Marc J. Shapiro. Photo by Eli Gukich
8 Promise spring 2010
A publication for friends of MD Anderson
RESEARCHHIGHLIGHTS
For complete news releases about these studies, please visit MD Anderson’s online newsroom at www.mdanderson.org/newsroom.
BATTLE Links Potential Biomarkers to Lung Cancer Drugs Results of the Biomarker-Integrated Approaches of Targeted Therapy for Lung Cancer Elimination (BATTLE) indicate a paradigm shift for clinical trials, say MD Anderson researchers, who shared their findings recently in Washington, D.C., during the 101st annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. BATTLE is the first lung cancer clinical trial to guide targeted therapies to patients based on molecular signatures in tumor biopsies. The study, conducted at MD Anderson and funded through the U.S. Army’s medical research program, used an innovative statistical model to match four drugs to specific molecular biomarkers in the tumors of 255 stage IV non-small cell lung cancer patients who had received between one and nine previous treatments. The first 97 patients were equally randomized to BATTLE’s four arms. As the study progressed, the model used information from patients’ biopsies and outcomes to guide assignment of drugs to new patients, who became more likely to receive a drug that had worked for earlier patients with the same tumor biomarkers. BATTLE not only has demonstrated the feasibility of a biopsy-based, hypothesis-driven biomarker trial, the MD Anderson researchers say, but also has made a significant step toward personalized care and more effective, efficient clinical trials. “BATTLE evaluated tumor biomarkers in hopes that we can treat lung cancer, which kills more people than any other type of cancer, like we treat breast or colon cancer, using validated biomarkers to guide treatment and improve survival,” says Edward Kim, M.D., associate professor in MD Anderson’s Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology and principal investigator on the BATTLE clinical trials. Roy Herbst, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, is co-principal investigator on the BATTLE clinical trials. “Two lung cancer tumors might appear identical under a microscope, but they behave differently,” says Waun Ki Hong, M.D., head of MD Anderson’s Division of Cancer Medicine and principal investigator on the BATTLE grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. “The name of the game now is to treat based on the molecular defects in the tumor.” Kim says future BATTLE trials will test combinations of therapies as well as single agents and will concentrate on the entire range of staging for lung cancer patients, including frontline therapy. Ultimately, the researchers plan to try the BATTLE approach in personalizing prevention clinical trials. BATTLE was established in 2000 in honor of R. Duffy Wall, a lung cancer patient at MD Anderson who lost his life to the disease. Private philanthropy has played a major role in supplementing federal funds for the program. Edward Kim, M.D.
Waun Ki Hong, M.D.
Roy Herbst, M.D., Ph.D.
Perspect ives
Comments? Suggestions? We welcome your perspective. E-mail Promise@mdanderson.org.
Gene Study Provides Major Clue in Cancer Metastasis An international team led by scientists at MD Anderson has identified the molecular machinery that switches on a gene known to cause breast cancer to spread and invade other organs. The discovery provides a target-rich environment for development of drugs to thwart expression of the RhoA gene, says Hui-Kuan Lin, Ph.D., an assistant professor in MD Anderson’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology. RhoA overexpression has been implicated in cancer metastasis. “There are four components to this complex, which starts RhoA expression by transcribing the gene, and we found that all of them are important to metastasis,” says Lin, senior author of a paper reporting these findings online in Nature Cell Biology. “Knock down any one of the four, and you can stop breast cancer metastasis by preventing RhoA expression.” Funding for this research comes from MD Anderson’s Research Trust Scholar funds, the National Cancer Institute’s Prostate Cancer Specialized Program in Research Excellence at MD Anderson and a Department of Defense New Investigator Award to Lin.
A New Look for MD Anderson’s Logo For almost seven decades, the essence of MD Anderson has been its mission to eliminate cancer. Now, a new logo integrates this mission into the institution’s name with a line striking through the word “Cancer.” The logo translates the “Making Cancer History®” tagline into a dramatic visual signature. Central to MD Anderson’s brand, it encompasses all the attributes that distinguish the institution. “We want to be the first choice for the patients we serve and their families, physicians who can recommend us, donors whose support is essential, volunteers who give tirelessly, and faculty and staff who are dedicated to this mission and vision,” says John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of MD Anderson. “The new logo represents our commitment to this mission. Through the years, we’ve built tremendous momentum in
cancer research and care. Every patient teaches us more about how we can help eliminate cancer, if not for him or her, then for the next person.” The updated logo will begin appearing on MD Anderson’s Internet site, signage and vehicles and in printed materials. A coordinated approach will address the visual identity of all MD Anderson locations and relationships, including regional care centers and other collaborative interactions in the United States and internationally. Programs such as the Children’s Cancer Hospital and Children’s Art
Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistor yCampaign.org
Project also will reflect the new look in their logos. To learn more, visit www.mdanderson.org/ logo. Share your thoughts on the new logo by e-mailing Promise@mdanderson.org.
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The Cockrell Foundation Nurtures Excellence in Cancer Research (BOV) in 2008-2009 and currently serves as a member of the BOV’s Campaign to Transform Cancer Care Executive Committee. “Mother and Dad instilled the culture of giving, and we try to pass their vision and legacy on. It’s a generational commitment to achieve positive results through strategic giving.” Certainly that philosophy has fueled a number of innovative research and patient care initiatives at MD Anderson. A recent gift from The Cockrell Foundation to Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care continues the family’s philanthropic tradition, ensuring endowment funds designated for training the next generation of leaders in cancer research. The endowment’s lasting benefits can only be imagined at this point, says Cockrell, better known as “Ernie” among business associates, family and friends. “It’s like a domino effect, excellence building excellence,” he says. “You start small, develop critical mass, and over time the corollary effects can have an impact on the whole institution.” Cockrell’s involvement with MD Anderson’s Board of Visitors began in 1975, “when Bob Mosbacher was chair and Ben Love was leading a capital campaign.” Thirty years later, in September 2005, Cockrell flexed Ernest H. Cockrell at an MD Anderson event in Jackson Hole, Wyo. his own leadership skills as chair of The words “philanthropy” and “family” are almost synonymous when Ernest H. Cockrell of Houston describes his philosophy of giving. His parents, the late Virginia H. and Ernie Cockrell Jr., left a legacy that continues through The Cockrell Foundation, established in 1966, and the Cockrell Family Foundation, established in 1998 to promote leadership among the next generation and make them “better givers.” “It’s an opportunity to be involved and see dreams come to fruition,” says Cockrell, who chaired MD Anderson’s Board of Visitors
the South Campus Research Initiative (SCRI), at the time MD Anderson’s most aggressive research expansion effort. The SCRI launched the Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer and ultimately raised $135 million. Private SCRI support under Cockrell’s watch surpassed philanthropic goals — ahead of schedule — and enabled numerous scientific advances at the McCombs Institute during its first year. Cockrell’s dedication to MD Anderson has deeply personal roots. He was a freshman at The University of Texas at Austin in 1963 when his mother was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and began treatment at MD Anderson. In 1972, Virginia joined the Board of Visitors and served in numerous capacities until she died of a heart attack in 1983. Cockrell credits MD Anderson with extending her life by 20 years. In 1980, his wife, Janet, was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her successful treatment at MD Anderson further reinforced Cockrell’s commitment to the institution’s mission. Today Janet is cancer-free. “To be associated with the finest cancer institution in the world on an ongoing basis, to watch it and get to know the people who are ‘Making Cancer History®’, has been a wonderful experience for this family,” says Cockrell. “It’s a privilege to have had the opportunity.”
Photo by David J. Swift
Planned Gift Boosts Campaign to Transform Cancer Care During his 71 years, Jack Laughery embraced life in all its many facets. A family man, food industry entrepreneur, community activist and political fundraiser, he loved horses, Harley Davidsons, and the homes he created with his wife, Helen, in Rocky Mount, N.C., and Jackson Hole, Wyo. A lung cancer diagnosis in December 2002 failed to alter his positive outlook. Houston simply became another home away from home for the couple. Visits to MD Anderson provided opportunity to cultivate new friendships and interests as they explored dining, cultural and sports offerings in the city and surrounding areas. Their experiences at MD Anderson also reinforced the couple’s longtime philosophy of giving. As Jack underwent treatment, he and Helen vowed to give back to the institution that prolonged his life by more than three years. “During that time we discussed our desire to contribute a gift to MD Anderson,” says Helen. “We had such a positive experience. We were struck with the ‘warm fuzzies’ at MD Anderson. It’s astounding that this world-
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renowned center for cancer care and research can make you feel like you’re at home, with everybody cheering for you.” When Jack died in August 2006, his family, through The Laughery Foundation, pledged $1 million in five phases over 10 years to support various research programs specific to lung cancer at MD Anderson. “Jack didn’t live long enough to execute our decision to support MD Anderson, though he did have input into how the money would be designated and the direction we’d head with our commitment. The children and I made sure we followed through,” says Helen, who joined MD Anderson’s Board of Visitors (BOV) in 2008. “He would be pleased. In fact, he would have expected no less of us.” Helen says she enjoys returning to Houston for BOV meetings and “for fun.” She scheduled several days in February, for example, to attend the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, a favorite activity she and Jack shared during their 39 years of marriage. Helen says her husband’s lung cancer opened her eyes to the crucial need for
private support of innovative research to find new and better treatments. To that end, she recently extended her own commitment to Making Cancer Helen Laughery at the 2010 Houston History®: The Livestock Show & Rodeo. Campaign to Transform Cancer Care with a $500,000 planned gift. “It’s an outright gift, executed in my will,” says Helen, who is in the process of determining the specific type of research the money will support. “It’s not earmarked yet. I would love to think that some of the research needs that are so urgent now would be a moot point by the time I’m gone. I’m trying to design it so it’s still relevant years from now.” To learn more about planned giving, visit www.mdanderson.planyourlegacy.org.
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Blue Bell Scoops Up Hope for Cancer Patients, Survivors Polo mallets and ice cream scoops may not seem to have much in common. But the two have gone hand in hand during the first weekend in May for more than 20 years in the West Texas town of Albany. Polo on the Prairie, a U.S. Polo Association-sanctioned tournament benefiting MD Anderson, and Blue Bell Creameries are longtime partners. In fact, Blue Bell has been a part of Polo on the Prairie ever since MD Anderson Board of Visitors members Mary Anne McCloud and Henry Musselman, her son-in-law, created the multigenerational event, complete with barbecue, dancing to live entertainment, fireworks and a military flyover. This year, the little creamery in Brenham contributed $10,000 to the May 1 event, held on a pasture-turned-polo field on the Musselman Brothers’ Lazy 3 Ranch. In addition, Blue Bell has pledged $150,000 to support the Anderson Network. A program of the Department of Volunteer Services, the Anderson Network is a unique cancer support group of more than 1,500 current and former patients and caregivers. “Blue Bell Creameries is proud to honor the McClouds and the Musselmans with these gifts to support Polo on the Prairie and the important programs MD Anderson makes available to its patients and their families,” says
Paul Kruse, Blue Bell CEO and president. “The Anderson Network conference is testament to the progress institutions like MD Anderson have made toward successfully treating cancer,” says Kruse. “Blue Bell is honored to support the many cancer survivors and their families who will attend this conference to celebrate life beyond cancer.”
Polo on the Prairie is the sponsor of the 2010 Anderson Network Cancer Survivorship Conference, Sept. 24-25 at the Omni Westside, with David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D., as keynote speaker. This year’s attendees have a special treat in store, ice cream “Hope Floats” courtesy of Blue Bell.
Members of the Blue Bell Creameries team in action at Polo on the Prairie. Photo by Eli Gukich
Apache Support Goes ’Behind the Screens’ to Manage Databases In 2005, Apache Corporation contributed $500,000 to MD Anderson, inspired by the experiences of one of its employees, a scientist who overcame lymphoma through treatment at MD Anderson. Apache Chair and CEO G. Steven Farris directed the donation to support the new Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research (CABIR) at the Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer. When completed, facilities for CABIR would support computer modeling and imaging algorithms, not unlike the seismic imaging the energy company uses to find oil and gas, to detect cancer activity at the molecular level
and to personalize treatments by determining tumors’ responses within days, not weeks. Fast-forward five years: MD Anderson researchers and clinicians are moving into CABIR’s recently completed 315,000square-foot South Campus facility, and Apache is renewing its commitment to MD Anderson with a $1 million contribution to Making Cancer History®: The Campaign to Transform Cancer Care. Apache’s donation will support a complex data management system necessary for daily clinical and research operations at CABIR and at MD Anderson’s Brain Tumor Center. The contribution also supports the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment. Farris, a member of MD Anderson’s Board of Visitors and its Campaign to Transform Cancer Care Executive Committee, says he and fellow executives at Apache saw the philanthropic needs in data management during a visit with
Juri G. Gelovani, M.D., Ph.D., chair of MD Anderson’s Department of Experimental Diagnostic Imaging and director of CABIR, and G. Steven Farris, chair and CEO of Apache Corporation, tour a lab at CABIR where radiopharmaceutical agents will be produced for advanced biomedical imaging. Photo by Victor Scott
Learn more at www.MakingCancerHistor yCampaign.org
Juri G. Gelovani, M.D., Ph.D., chair of MD Anderson’s Department of Experimental Diagnostic Imaging and director of CABIR, and Raymond Sawaya, M.D., chair of MD Anderson’s Department of Neurosurgery. The Apache visitors were impressed from more than a philanthropic perspective. Inspired by Gelovani’s presentation, one of the vice presidents decided to quit smoking then and there. Employee health and wellness is part of Apache’s corporate culture, says Farris, as is philanthropy. The $1 million contribution to MD Anderson is “classic Apache,” he says. “When it comes to corporate giving, we’re more likely to pick a program that represents the area of highest need, not necessarily the highest profile,” says Farris. Apache recently held a luncheon for its employees to announce the gift. “Cancer is something that touches us all,” says Farris, whose father died of lung cancer several years ago. “I want our employees to see the cutting-edge work this gift will support and to understand the importance of taking care of themselves in hopes of preventing cancer by eating right, exercising and making other lifestyle choices.”
Read more donor stories at www.mdanderson.org/gifts.
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