Promise Newsletter - Fall 2009

Fall 2009 A publication for friends of M. D. Anderson

Children’s Cancer Hospital Practicing the Art of the Possible #1, Again M. D. Anderson Ranks First in the Nation

Hoda Kotb A Survivor’s Words of Wisdom Learn how you can help at www.mdanderson.org/gifts.

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Children’s Cancer Hospital Practicing the Art of the Possible

By Sara Farris A 16-year-old amputee skis down a slope on her own for the first time. A former star tennis player sidelined by bone cancer learns a new sport and makes his school’s golf team. An international patient enrolls in the in-hospital school and graduates with her class despite the months of treatment.

It’s “the art of the possible.” That’s how Peter Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., professor at the Children’s Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson, terms such milestones.

But to these patients, they’re dreams they may not have conceived of coming true. These accomplishments reflect the support of patient health care teams and the generosity of those who partner with them by giving their time, energy and financial resources to the Children’s Cancer Hospital.

Education via videoconferencing. It’s seen in the Parents emphasize the education pediatric oncologist’s eyes as he tells program, for example, as a differentiator his relapsed patient there’s yet another for the Children’s Cancer Hospital. clinical trial to try.

With the help of philanthropic funding, Within the past five years, dreams the education program is working have become realities at the Children’s toward accreditation as a national and Cancer Hospital as more research has international school for students in pre-K been conducted and published and as through 12th grade, something only a more clinical trials have opened. Today handful of hospitals in the United States parents are part of everyday decisioncan claim. This initiative will expand making, and patients spend more time out the current program’s comprehensive of the hospital thanks to the translation of inpatient therapies to outpatient protocols. structure to include an early childhood program, English as a Second Language The growing momentum has resulted courses, cognitive therapy, parent training in the Children’s Cancer Hospital jumping and more school re-entry services. up eight levels in this year’s U.S.News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Research Hospitals” survey.

The Children’s Cancer Hospital is “To be ranked as the No.13 children’s considered one of the largest pediatric hospital in the nation for cancer care cancer research hospitals in the nation. is truly an honor,” says Eugenie S. Over the past year researchers have The promise of hope Kleinerman, M.D., head of the Division presented their findings at the top The art of the possible is a philosophy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Cancer international and national oncology all faculty and staff of the Children’s Hospital. “It’s taken a team effort to get conferences. Their discoveries relating Cancer Hospital adopt in some way. us to where we are today. Now we’re to brain tumors, bone cancers, It’s seen in the intensity of researchers setting our sights on a top 10 ranking.” whose laboratory findings may mean A five-year strategic plan promises a breakthrough in patient care. It’s even more changes to improve the seen in the patients’ smiles as they overall experience for children, young interact with biologists and animals adults and their families coming to the at Houston’s Downtown Aquarium Children’s Cancer Hospital.

Federal funding for childhood cancer clinical Cover photo: research has declined in recent years, resulting in Building blocks for success Kim’s Place offers video games, a jukebox, a pool table, computers, fewer clinical trials for children, according to the Over the next three years, the comfortable couches and other amenities in a special space just Children’s Oncology Group. With support from for M. D. Anderson cancer patients, friends and family members pediatric outpatient clinic and a new foundations, companies and individual donors, ages 15 to 25. The facility is a tribute to the late WNBA Houston pediatric intensive care unit will move researchers and clinicians at the Children’s Cancer Comet Kim Perrot who died of lung cancer in August 1999 at age to Alkek Hospital’s ninth floor to Hospital can continue bringing state-of-the-art 32. Pictured is Omar Olivarez, taking a break to play a game of eight-ball during a relative’s treatment at M. D. Anderson. treatments with fewer long-term side effects to join the existing inpatient unit. The Photo by Eli Gukich pediatric patients. Donor-funded research projects expansion, as well as the addition that have received worldwide recognition within of a diagnostic imaging the past year include: suite for pediatric patients, Immunotherapy With Less Toxicity – Patients incorporates feedback with various childhood cancers are being from families who are infused with two types of immune cells, T cells working with the architects and NK cells, to safely attack tumors that resist chemotherapy. throughout the design process. Parents on the Prevention of Osteosarcoma Metastasis – Children’s Cancer Hospital Scientists are studying a specific signaling pathway, called NOTCH, and a gene, Hes-1, Family Advisory Council hoping to find ways to prevent these mechanisms have played a large role in from triggering bone cancer cells to metastasize. guiding decision-making New Therapies for Neuroblastoma – Lab studies since the group’s formation and clinical trials are investigating therapies and in 2008. developing personalized treatment for children “It’s so powerful to hear with neuroblastoma. One trial is testing a drug, directly from the families vandetanib, for the first time in children. who are going through Receptors Targeted for Leukemia – Researchers cancer treatment with their are studying a certain inhibitor, AZ23, whose use children,” says Patricia led to a 50 percent to 60 percent reduction of acute myeloid leukemia cells in mice. AZ23 works Eugenie S. Kleinerman, M.D., head of the Division of Pediatrics and the Children’s Wells, director of family Cancer Hospital, shares a happy moment with pediatric cancer survivor Humberto by turning off switches that promote cancer cell centered care. “They keep Flores III and his dad, Humberto Flores Jr., at the hospital’s 2,000-square-foot Hoglund production. you focused and working on Foundation Pedi-Dome and Vara Martin Daniel Children’s Play Park on the ninth floor.

Photo by F. Carter Smith what really matters.”

Philanthropy Fuels Innovative Research

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Promise fall 2009

A publication for friends of M. D. Anderson

neuroblastoma, leukemia, cell therapy and survivorship issues have led to new therapies for pediatric patients.

“Our research no longer focuses on just finding a cure,” says Kleinerman.

“It focuses on finding therapies that will eradicate cancer without the long-term side effects that past therapies gave survivors. Giving patients a quality of life while undergoing treatment and afterward is very important to us.”

not only help the child, but they also ease the parents’ burden.”

Path toward a cure While pediatric cancer is rare, it’s the leading cause of death by disease for children. Philanthropic gifts to the Children’s Cancer Hospital power the

Patient care Programs that provide comprehensive care for children and their families support the new therapies introduced in the clinic.

Philanthropy plays a significant role as donors generously contribute portable electronics, pediatric parties, coffee for the family lounge, funding toward patient camps and other gifts that help patients and their families cope with cancer.

“The parties, the games and everything in between really help our patients take a mental break from their cancer treatments,” says Sheila Brown, child life specialist at the hospital. “They

hospital’s lifesaving vision, advancing the current course of patient care and research while shaping a brighter future for children, adolescents and young adults with cancer.

— sfarris@mdanderson.org

Support Focuses on Survivorship Issues Nearly 80 percent of children with cancer survive today, thanks to the progress of pediatric cancer research. Unfortunately, nearly 75 percent of these survivors will develop chronic health problems or secondary cancers due to their treatments, and many become overweight, according to the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a National Cancer Institute-funded study of more than 14,000 survivors at 27 research centers in North America and Canada.

Pediatric oncologists at the Children’s Cancer Hospital are investigating ways to detect, prevent and treat these long-term side effects.

Laura Worth, M.D., Ph.D., medical center director for the Children’s Cancer Hospital, and Nicole Rosipal, nurse practitioner, are studying the effects of exercise on children receiving stem cell transplants. Philanthropic funding supports a research position as well as the purchase of child-friendly exercise equipment, such as Nintendo Wii systems and stationary bicycles.

Students enrolled in the Pediatric Education Program now participate in a nutrition, health and physical education class supported through philanthropy. The pediatric patients engage in healthy cooking classes and work with a physical therapist who makes exercise a fun part of their weekly routines.

A Message From Dr. Mendelsohn In the 1970s, the survival rate for all childhood cancers combined was less than 50 percent. Today the survival rate is 80 percent, due in large part to new and enhanced treatments for acute lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Wilms’ tumor. But these numbers, though markedly improved, simply are not good enough. Pediatric cancer remains the leading cause of death from disease in children under 15 in this country.

The Children’s Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson is dedicated to changing those statistics. Thanks to generous philanthropic support,

the Children’s Cancer Hospital continues to thrive and expand.

Our pediatric oncologists lead the world in discovering new ways to diagnose and treat childhood cancers, combining unrivaled expertise in research with compassionate patient care not found elsewhere. A group of community leaders recently gathered for the first meeting of the Children’s Cancer Hospital Advisory Group, an exciting collaboration with faculty and staff committed to eliminating deaths from pediatric cancer. We are grateful to all who support the Children’s Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson as we strive to grant children, adolescents and young adults with cancer this simple wish: the opportunity to grow up and lead normal lives. Together, we are Making Cancer History®.

Jeff B. Love, chairman of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell LLP, Houston office, is a senior member of The University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors.

To learn more about M. D. Anderson’s Holiday Greeting Card Program, visit www.mdanderson.org/giving/holiday or call 800-525-5841.

As a member of M. D. Anderson’s Board of Visitors for 19 years, I’ve sent holiday wishes and acknowledgments to very good friends and clients for many seasons through the institution’s Holiday Greeting Card Program. Among the benefits of this program, for me, are the opportunities to financially support M. D. Anderson’s mission to eradicate cancer and to increase awareness of the No. 1-ranked cancer center in the country among friends and clients in other regions. During these years, those who know I have a nexus to the institution through this program have often contacted me when they or their family members or friends have been in need of M. D. Anderson’s vast reservoir of expertise.

Moreover, I’ve found through notes from recipients of these holiday cards that they prefer a remembrance that’s given for the benefit of others.

Do you promise? Tell us why you’re committed to Making Cancer History® and send an e-mail to Promise@mdanderson.org.

Learn how you can help at www.mdanderson.org/gifts.

Promise John Mendelsohn, M.D. PRESIDENT

Patrick B. Mulvey VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT

Stephen C. Stuyck VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS

DeDe DeStefano PROGRAM MANAGER

Sarah Watson EDITOR

Eli Gukich DESIGNER

Contributing Writers Sara Farris Gail Goodwin Tomise Martin The University of Texas M. D. 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.

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Run for the Rose Races Past $1 Million Mark for Brain Tumor Research Family and friends of the late Marnie Rose, M.D., walked and ran their way to a fundraising milestone March 29 at the seventh annual Run for the Rose, a 5K fun run and walk supporting the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation.

Thanks to a $317,000 contribution from proceeds of the event, the foundation has donated more than $1 million to brain cancer research at M. D. Anderson.

Diagnosed with brain cancer in 2001 during her first year of medical residency at The University of Texas-Houston Medical School, Rose underwent treatment at M. D. Anderson. She died in 2002. Since 2003, the Rose Foundation ensures that her legacy — a passion to help others and a courageous

Access

Answers

To become a patient at M. D. Anderson: Call 877-632-6789 or fill out the self-referral form at www.mdanderson.org.

fight with a rare disease — lives on by supporting research and new drug development.

Each year donations from the run are divided between M. D. Anderson and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.

“Marnie was beautiful and bright, They’re off and running at the seventh annual Run for the Rose, a 5K fun run and walk supporting and as a pediatric the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation. The event raised $317,000 for brain tumor research at medical resident M. D. Anderson. Photo courtesy of Your Sporting Image by Karen Thibodeaux she devoted her life to caring for children,” says Lanie Rose, The foundation and the Rose family have her mother. “Through the foundation, we been instrumental in M. D. Anderson’s role in honor her by helping both children and brain developing novel therapies for brain cancer.” cancer patients in need. We’re grateful for the All funds raised by the Dr. Marnie Rose support we’ve received from our donors and Foundation for M. D. Anderson go directly to participants through the years.” groundbreaking research, with guidance from According to the American Cancer Society Sawaya and Alfred Yung, M.D., chair of the more than 22,000 people will be diagnosed Department of Neuro-Oncology. and nearly 13,000 will die from brain cancer “Marnie received state-of-the-art, in 2009. compassionate care at M. D. Anderson that “Brain cancer is not as common and does she could not have received anywhere else,” not receive the same amount of funding as says Lanie. “The Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation some other cancers,” says Raymond Sawaya, was formed from our desire to honor my M.D., professor and chair of the Department daughter’s memory and help the next patient of Neurosurgery at M. D. Anderson. “Over survive brain cancer. Marnie never gave up the past 10 to 15 years, private donors such her will to survive, so we will not surrender our as the Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation have hope for a cure.” changed research funding for this cancer.

Video at http://tinyurl.com/nctbkw.

RAAM Team Brings Christmas in July to Young Cancer Patients Cyclists from Cheniere’s Making Cancer History® Race Across America, or RAAM, team celebrated Christmas in July with pediatric cancer patients from the Children’s Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson.

Former RAAM team member Kirk Gentle was on the scene July 16 to help the young patients decorate gingerbread men cookies, make reindeer antlers and more. The children were treated to ice cream sundaes, and Santa himself was there to jot down their holiday wishes. In addition, the cycling team’s pedal partner, neurofibromatosis patient Emily Parker, was front and center at the party to encourage all the young patients.

Since 2005, Cheniere’s team has raised more than $200,000 for neurofibromatosis research at M. D. Anderson. Neurofibromatosis is a progressive disorder that causes tumors to grow around the nerves. The team competes in RAAM, one of the most challenging endurance races in the world, as a symbolic

demonstration of how teamwork, research, persistence and ingenuity can triumph over obstacles such as neurofibromatosis and other debilitating diseases. This year’s effort

was part of an annual campaign that coordinates multiple fundraising events in support of cancer research, treatment and education at M. D. Anderson.

Santa braves Houston’s summertime heat to spread holiday cheer among patients at the Children’s Cancer Hospital during an event arranged by the Cheniere Making Cancer History® Race Across America team. Photo by Barry Smith

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AApublication publicationfor forfriends friendsof ofM. M.D.D.Anderson Anderson

Philanthropy

in Act ion

Mulligans Mean Melanoma Awareness for Sun-savvy Fundraisers “Love the skin you’re in” is their motto, “wear sunblock” their mantra.

Husband-and-wife team Yvonne and Alan O’Martin are executive director and chairman, respectively, of the Bradley O’Martin Melanoma Foundation, a charitable organization responsible for more than $120,000 committed to melanoma research at M. D. Anderson.

The couple, who live in Coppell, Texas, learned about melanoma in perhaps the most painful way: They lost their 27-year-old son, Brad, to the disease in 2005. Yet the O’Martins found the resolve to help others become “sun savvy” and sensitive to the need for more research dollars to help eradicate melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer.

Yvonne O’Martin noticed an “unusual” spot on her son’s back one summer afternoon in 2002 when he dropped by to help with a backyard project. Yvonne relied on mother’s intuition and insisted Brad have it checked.

Within days he was diagnosed with Stage III melanoma.

Under the care of Kevin Kim, M.D., associate professor of melanoma medical oncology at M. D. Anderson, Brad underwent a year of interferon treatments with encouraging results. The cancer returned, however, and the Stage IV prognosis was grim.

Two intensive regimens of biochemotherapy and radiation treatments followed, but Brad ultimately died from the disease.

The O’Martins established the Bradley O’Martin Melanoma Foundation in his memory. Their mission is to fund clinical trials and research studies and to advance melanoma education, awareness, screenings and treatment. Kim, Brad’s oncologist at M. D. Anderson, volunteers as medical adviser, providing insight on research and treatment protocols.

The O’Martins raise money and awareness at a variety of community events and through the foundation’s Miles for Melanoma, a walk held each May, and Mulligans for Melanoma, an October golf tournament.

The inaugural 2008 tournament was in honor of Courtney Breeding of Aledo, near Fort Worth. Courtney’s Stage III melanoma was found during elective surgery. Cancer-free for two years, she comes to M. D. Anderson for six-month follow-ups.

“I became involved with the foundation because I wanted to do something to help raise awareness,” says Courtney, mother of three young children. “I’ve been so impressed with Yvonne’s passion, strength and sheer will to keep working until the word is out there.”

Courtney’s husband, Todd Breeding of Frost Financial Management Group, was instrumental in securing sponsorship for the fledgling event.

“Frost’s participation led to two other corporate entities, Siemens and Marshalls, matching their sponsorship,” says Yvonne. “It was an awesome moment for the foundation when we realized that corporate sponsors were M. D. Anderson’s Kevin Kim, M.D., left, and Michael L. Maris, M.D., a Dallas-based committed to helping dermatologist who provided free cancer screenings at the 2008 Mulligans for Melanoma, in the fight against this enjoy a round of golf in support of the Bradley O’Martin Melanoma Foundation.

Photo courtesy of Yvonne and Alan O’Martin disease.”

Equally inspiring, “If we had known about melanoma, Brad she says, are the individuals who have might be with us now,” she says. “Hopefully “turned their own grief into positive one day there will be an effective treatment action” by volunteering time and financial for this aggressive disease that claims the support. Yvonne finds comfort in knowing lives of so many young people.” the foundation is “making a difference and — www.bradsmelanomafoundation.org helping save lives.”

Santa Fe Symposium

A number of educational events during the spring and summer in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Missouri shared the latest developments in M. D. Anderson’s research and patient care initiatives. A July event at The Club at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M., for example, drew about 90 guests, who enjoyed presentations by John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of M. D. Anderson, and Ernest Hawk, M.D., vice president for cancer prevention. A dinner followed at the home of Pam and Randall Onstead. Joining the couple on the host committee were Dianne and Don Chalmers, Lynn and Pete Coneway, Jan and Dan Duncan, Susan Foote and Stephen Feinberg, Marion and John Fort III, Mel and Tom Gordon, Janiece Longoria and Stephen Lasher, Katherine and Jeff Love and Kay Onstead. Shown are Kay Onstead, left, and Pam Onstead.

Photo by Cathy Callanan

Learn how you can help at www.mdanderson.org/gifts www.mdanderson.org/gifts.

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AmongFriends Editor’s note: Ruth U. Keller of Asheville, N.C., and formerly of Maitland, Fla., has generously opened her home on occasion for events to raise awareness of M. D. Anderson’s research and patient care initiatives. Here she relates the cancer journey she shared with her late husband, William H. Keller, and her motivation to support the institution’s mission to eradicate cancer.

By Ruth U. Keller I could go on forever with case histories of friends I’ve referred to M. D. Anderson, men and women who’ve been treated for bladder, breast, kidney, esophageal and other cancers. We’re so thankful there’s an M. D. Anderson, because we know it’s the best. You see, my late husband, Bill, was a patient there. Words can’t express my gratitude for the staff at M. D. Anderson. They were wonderful to us. I hope my story will inspire those with cancer to visit the No. 1 cancer center in the world.

Bill’s journey In February 1999, my husband was notified by his internist in Florida that

Survivors Say

I am an apple-eating, Central Park-running, pretty healthy woman. I thought I was living right, but life is funny, isn’t it? On Sunday everything is perfectly normal. Then on Monday, it’s all turned upside down with a call from the doctor: I had breast cancer and needed a mastectomy.

When it was over, I learned a couple of things. You realize your life is to be valued and not wasted. The mantra becomes “not one more minute.” I will not waste one more minute. I held on tightly to the things I loved and got rid of the things I didn’t.

I also walked away with four wonderful words: “You can’t scare me.” How perfect. No matter what happens in life, if you survive breast cancer, you get that.

— Hoda Kotb, fourth-hour co-anchor of NBC’s “Today,” correspondent for “Dateline NBC” and host of the weekly syndicated series “Your Total Health.” As keynote speaker for Anderson Network’s 21st annual Living With, Through and Beyond Cancer conference Sept. 10-12 in Houston, Kotb shared reflections on her breast cancer experience and the inner strength essential throughout treatment and recovery.

Promise invites cancer survivors to share their reflections.

E-mail Promise@mdanderson.org.

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Promise fall 2009

Ruth Keller

he had prostate cancer. Bill was sent immediately to a urologist in Orlando.

I had read about M. D. Anderson and asked him to go there. He refused, insisting the local doctors were good enough.

The urologist offered a choice of radiation or surgery and gave us a week to decide. I didn’t want to influence Bill in any way, so I remained silent, hoping he would choose surgery.

When we returned to the urologist, I was relieved to hear Bill opt for surgery.

It took place in June 1999. Later we received a call that the cancer had spread and that Bill needed to start radiation. I pleaded with him to go to M. D. Anderson for another opinion, asking him to go for me. Bill agreed, and I called and made an appointment. This was in early July.

Our daughter, Priscilla, decided to fly to Houston with us.

At M. D. Anderson, Bill underwent three days of examinations, and a team of doctors evaluated his case. We met with Dr. Shi-Ming Tu (associate professor of genitourinary medical oncology), who informed us that radiation would merely do additional damage. Neither Bill nor I heard him say that Bill had two years to live. Our daughter, however, did.

In October Dr. Tu told us about a new experimental program at M. D. Anderson but was concerned that we lived too far away. I told him that distance meant nothing. He said it was a “blind” study — we wouldn’t know whether Bill was receiving the placebo or the real drug.

I said we’d take our chances.

Bill went through the study with no problems. He entered a second program with stronger medication. Bill did fine, until his checkup in April 2007. We were living in Asheville, N.C., at the time. His PSA was elevated and the oncologist in Asheville suggested chemotherapy or radiation. Bill declined treatment, knowing he would probably live only a year or so.

Ruth and Bill Keller Photo courtesy of Ruth Keller

and only visit. My girlfriend had promised no dates — we’d go straight home after the dance. I was a blonde and wore a red dress. This was in 1942 during World War II, and servicemen would line up to break in on the girls. When my girlfriend and I were getting our coats to go home, she told me that she had accepted a double date after the dance. Though I was annoyed, I went along. Then I met Bill and from that moment we were in love.

As he was dying, Bill talked about how he’d admired me on the dance floor, and how, since he didn’t dance, he didn’t believe we’d ever have the opportunity to meet or that I would fall in love with him. It was so touching that he would relate this story on his deathbed. He asked that his ashes be saved and mixed with mine to be spread in our garden, which our daughters have promised to do.

He died at 1:30 a.m. in my arms. He left me with such a beautiful feeling for the joy we’ve shared for more than 65 years.

Who could be more fortunate than I?

A day of memories On Dec. 8, 2008, Bill was moved from our home to hospice care.

That day, he started talking about the first time he saw me, at a church in Washington, D.C., across from the White House. I had attended a dance for servicemen with a girlfriend. It was my first

A publication for friends of M. D. Anderson

RESEARCHHIGHLIGHTS

For complete news releases about these studies, please visit M. D. Anderson’s online newsroom at www.mdanderson.org/newsroom.

Project Zero Delay Speeds Drug to Patients in Record Time A Phase I clinical trial enrolled its first patient only two days after U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance of the experimental drug for a first-in-human cancer trial, a milestone that normally takes three to six months. Investigators from M. D. Anderson and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca reported their work in the Journal of Clinical Oncology published online in August.

The joint effort, dubbed Project Zero Delay, is part of a strategic collaboration between the two organizations designed to safely accelerate development of new cancer drugs. In many cases that process takes Robert C. Bast Jr., M.D. about 12 years, and the cost of bringing a new drug to patients has been estimated at around $1.3 billion.

“Project Zero Delay demonstrates how we can shrink the time it takes to bring new drugs to cancer patients,” says Robert C. Bast Jr., M.D., vice president for translational research at M. D. Anderson and the paper’s senior author. “Close cooperation eliminated unnecessary delays while fully meeting regulatory requirements for scientific and human safety review.”

The key to Project Zero Delay was performing most tasks in parallel instead of sequentially, says lead author Razelle Kurzrock, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Investigational Therapeutics.

No administrative steps were skipped.

Study Uncovers Genetic Link for Bladder Cancer A research team led by M. D. Anderson has pinpointed a gene variation, prostate stem cell antigen, or PSCA, that causes a 30 percent to 40 percent higher risk for urinary bladder cancer. Scientists hope the results of this international study may help determine who is at high risk to contract this deadly cancer. They also hope the knowledge may improve survival rates and result in chemopreventive interventions.

PSCA is overexpressed in prostate cancer, and the level of PSCA increases with tumor grade and stage. While PSCA’s involvement in bladder cancer had been suggested previously, this is the first time it has been linked definitively.

Xifeng Wu, M.D., Ph.D. The study answers many questions about genetic causes of bladder cancer, says Xifeng Wu, M.D., Ph.D., professor in epidemiology and the lead and corresponding author.

“The neighboring genomic region has previously been identified as a possible problem for breast, prostate, colorectal and bladder cancer, but we didn’t know why,” says Wu, who hopes the group’s findings will help targeted bladder cancer prevention efforts.

This study was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and funding from M. D. Anderson’s Kleberg Center for Molecular Markers.

Delivering Chemotherapy Straight to Ovarian Cancer Cells A research team led by scientists at M. D. Anderson has used a novel carrier system using the EphA2 protein as a homing mechanism to deliver chemotherapy directly to ovarian cancer cells in preclinical models.

EphA2 has increased expression in ovarian and other cancers, including breast, colon, prostate and non-small cell lung cancers and aggressive melanomas. Its expression has been associated with poor prognosis.

“One of our goals has been to develop more specific ways to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs,” says senior author Anil K. Sood, M.D., professor gynecologic oncology and cancer biology. “EphA2’s preferential presence Anil K. Sood, M.D. on tumor cells makes it an attractive therapeutic target.”

Sood, co-director of the Center for RNA Interference and Non-Coding RNA and the Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program at M. D. Anderson, says the drug was highly effective in reducing tumor growth and in prolonging survival in preclinical animal models. Researchers are “gearing up” to bring EphA2-silencing therapy to Phase I clinical trials, he adds.

Research was funded by a National Cancer Institute-United States Department of Health and Human Services-National Institutes of Health T32 Training Grant. Additional support came from M. D. Anderson’s ovarian cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant, the Marcus Foundation, the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the Blanton-Davis Ovarian Cancer Research Program and Sood’s Betty Ann Asche Murray Distinguished Professorship.

Learn how you can help at www.mdanderson.org/gifts

Common Diabetes Drug Reduces Pancreatic Cancer Risk By taking metformin, the most commonly prescribed anti-diabetic drug, people can reduce the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 62 percent, according to M. D. Anderson researchers.

“This is the first epidemiological study of metformin in the cancer population, and it offers an exciting direction for future chemoprevention research for a disease greatly in need of treatment and prevention strategies,” says Donghui Li, Ph.D., professor of gastrointestinal medical oncology.

According to Li, the study’s senior author, more than 35 million prescriptions for the oral medication are filled annually. It’s most often given to type 2 diabetes patients who are obese and/or have insulin resistance.

Li cites a previous animal study showing that metformin prevented pancreatic tumor development, as well as numerous epidemiologic studies in diabetics showing the drug reduced the risk for cancer overall.

“Given these earlier findings, and knowing that diabetes is a risk factor for developing pancreatic cancer and that 10 percent of such cancers are associated with diabetes, we wanted to better understand the specific association between antidiabetic therapies and this lethal disease,” says Li. The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute, as well as by institutional funds.

Protein Dubbed ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of DNA Repair A protein specialist that opens the genomic door for DNA repair and gene expression also turns out to be a multitasking workhorse that protects the tips of chromosomes and dabbles in a protein-destruction complex, reports a team led by researchers at M. D. Anderson.

“Instead of being a really important tool dedicated just to regulation of gene transcription, Gcn5 is more like a Swiss Army knife that performs different functions depending on what needs to be done in the cell,” says senior author Sharon Dent, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular biology.

The researchers document a chain of events that starts with depletion of Gcn5, which leads to decreased activity by another protein that protects yet a third protein from destruction.

That last protein, TRF1, protects telomeres, dense structures at the ends of chromosomes that, like the compressed plastic tips on the ends of a shoelace, keep the chromosome ends intact.

Variation in the gene that expresses the middle protein in this model is part of an 11-gene signature associated with highly metastatic cancers and poor prognosis, the authors note.

Funding for the study came from the National Institutes of Health and the French National Research Agency and the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale in France.

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Make a Difference

Farb’s Legacy Opens Doors in Personalized Cancer Therapy Over the course of a 50-year career as one of Houston’s most acclaimed apartment developers, Harold Farb was landlord to more than a million people. As he made his mark on the city with more than 30,000 apartments and other real estate interests, he touched the lives of many through an old-fashioned work ethic, an unabashed love of life and a desire to help others less fortunate.

Farb died at age 83 in 2006. Yet his legacy lives on through a recent gift of $1 million to M. D. Anderson’s Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy. Farb’s widow, longtime M. D. Anderson supporter Diane Lokey Farb, says her contribution honors his memory and his lifelong interest in the cutting edge research and compassionate patient care for which M. D. Anderson is known.

“Harold was very interested in the research going on at M. D. Anderson, and he personally observed, through friends and family treated there, the level of caring the institution offers patients, their families and caregivers,” says Diane Lokey Farb. “We had a tradition of supporting M. D. Anderson and a shared concern that patients receive the most effective treatments to help them progress

as quickly as possible toward healing and recovery.”

The concept of personalized cancer therapy is one her husband would be proud to support, she says.

Cancer is a gene based disease, and every person is unique on the molecular level.

Rather than adhering to a “one size fits all” strategy, personalized cancer therapy aims to target drugs to markers found in the genetic blueprint of the individual tumor.

That is the approach of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy, where researchers focus on the genetic and molecular structures specific to each patient and to each patient’s cancer. They also study how a drug or treatment works to target those individual abnormalities. Testing genes and molecules in a patient’s cancer prior to initiating therapy enables physician scientists to determine the right cancer therapy for the genetic and molecular makeup of that individual.

The Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy maximizes recent discoveries in genomics, molecular biology, nanotechnology, computational sciences and biomedical imaging. The goal of this unique enterprise

is to accelerate novel, precisely targeted, highly effective treatments for all types of cancer. Currently, the nation’s first clinical trials using this approach are under way at M. D. Anderson for patients with lung cancer and breast cancer. The lung cancer program, for example, is a set of clinical trials called BATTLE (Biomarkerintegrated Approaches Diane Lokey Farb of Targeted Therapy Photo by Jesse Hornbuckle for Lung Cancer Elimination).

Harold Farb’s trademark innovative spirit and determination to push the envelope are mirrored in the work of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy. Today, through generous philanthropic gestures such as this, Diane Lokey Farb continues her late husband’s caring tradition of helping others.

Student organization rallies to support a ‘Fine’ Cause M. D. Anderson patient Roxie Fine committed her life to helping others. As a family and consumer sciences teacher at Orange Grove High School in the South Texas town of Orange Grove, she encouraged students to strive for greatness. She also served as adviser to the local Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, a national student organization that promotes personal growth and leadership development.

Fine, who died in 2008 at age 45, inspired many students who considered her a teacher, a role model and a best friend. Her influence is reflected in a recent $22,000 contribution on behalf of the Orange Grove FCCLA to the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy at M. D. Anderson.

“Mrs. Fine was a wonderful person who loved everyone,” says former student Brittney Magness. “She was always willing to give advice or just listen if you needed to talk.”

Magness and fellow FCCLA members Victoria Galindo and Meg Walzel sought a way to honor Fine when she was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer of unknown primary, or CUP, in May 2008. CUP is a metastatic cancer with an unidentified origin that, according to the National Cancer Institute, is found in only a few thousand patients each year and is

difficult to treat.

The trio led the chapter’s efforts to implement “A ‘Fine’ Cause for Unknown Cancer.” The project included raising CUP Roxie Fine research funds through a number of initiatives including Walk for a Fine Cause, a fun run/walk held Dec. 11, 2008, nine days after Fine’s death.

The students also worked with state leaders to designate a CUP state license plate and ribbon. During the 81st Legislative Session, Texas Rep. Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles of Alice introduced House Concurrent Resolution 137 to establish a zebra stripe ribbon to symbolize the disease. She also introduced House Concurrent Resolution 138 to honor Fine’s life and House Bill 4064 to create a specialty Texas license plate. All were passed in May 2009.

“Mrs. Fine was such an open and loving person,” says FCCLA member Walzel. “We were very lucky to have her in our lives and community. She was always there for everyone and taught us so much about life. I know she’ll live on in our hearts and minds.”

Members of the Orange Grove FCCLA pause to commemorate their efforts at a fun run/ walk to raise funds in memory of teacher Roxie Fine. Photo courtesy of Kaye Bluntzer

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Promise fall 2009

A publication for friends of M. D. Anderson

Randalls’ campaign delivers ingredients for breast cancer awareness As proof that those dollars donated at the grocery store checkout line really do make a difference to breast cancer research, Randalls Food Store contributed $450,000 to M. D. Anderson from its employee and customer fundraising campaigns. The donation is being used to find better ways to treat those diagnosed with breast cancer by helping fund the Ductal Carcinoma in Situ Discovery Enterprise and the National I-SPY Trial program at the institution.

The DCIS Discovery Enterprise aims to determine what happens on a molecular level that leads DCIS, the fourth leading diagnosed cancer in U.S. women, to become invasive cancer. The I-SPY trial is a national study to find biomarkers that would help predict response to therapy among women with Stage III breast cancer.

Randalls holds its annual breast cancer awareness campaign in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Recently, Randalls’ Tom Schwilke, president; Leslie Nelson, vice president; Connie Yates, director of public affairs; and Dawne Proffitt, manager of public affairs and government relations, visited M. D. Anderson to learn about the programs the company is supporting.

For Nelson and Yates, it was personal.

Yates recently had lost her sister to breast cancer, and Nelson had just been diagnosed with the disease.

“I’d been getting mammograms every early diagnosis and early detection programs October from M. D. Anderson’s mobile too. Nothing in my family history predicted mammography unit that Randalls hosts at our that I was at risk, so I know the importance of stores since my first mammogram 10 years early detection.” ago,” says Nelson. “Being so consistent Randalls plans to continue supporting potentially saved my life.” cancer research and patient care programs In October 2008, Nelson’s mammogram and is grateful to those who’ve helped make came back suspicious. She immediately went the campaigns successful. to M. D. Anderson for follow-up.

“I want to give our customers and Although she was only 49 and had no employees a heartfelt thank you for their family history of breast cancer, Nelson was amazing generosity,” says Nelson. “Everyone diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. It was has been touched by cancer in one way or discovered at an early stage and had not another, and it’s important that our customers spread to her lymph nodes. After her first and employees understand that they really are surgery, Nelson asked for an Oncotype DX®, making a difference.” a diagnostic test that can help some breast cancer patients make decisions about their treatment plans. It can also help indicate the likelihood of recurrence. After Nelson’s results showed a higher than normal recurrence rate, she underwent chemotherapy and radiation.

“Through Randalls’ funding of these research programs, we’re helping women receive personalized cancer care based on their particular molecular make up, and I have benefited from that very concept,” she says.

Randalls’ 2007 and 2008 breast cancer awareness campaigns, held each October, “I know that our support of this generated a remarkable contribution to research at M. D. Anderson. research will continue to expand Photo courtesy of Randalls Food Store

Couple orchestrates planned gift to COVER patients’ TRAVEL COSTS Evelyn and Jerry Levine “Evelyn and I have been have been making treated at M. D. Anderson beautiful music together three times between the for six decades. They two of us,” says Jerry. met in New York: He was “We understand.” a clarinet major at the He describes his Juilliard School; she was M. D. Anderson experiences, a dancer in the Radio City although those were Corps de Ballet. Looking emotional times and back on 59 years of treatments were sometimes marriage and anticipating difficult, as “a wonderful part those to come, they’re Evelyn and Jerry Levine of my life.” pleased that their legacy Photo courtesy of Evelyn and Jerry Levine “I was cured,” he says. of love will never miss a “It gives you a new beat. Through thoughtful estate planning, perspective. We’re very grateful to the Levines have willed their entire estate to M. D. Anderson.”

M. D. Anderson.

After Juilliard, Jerry taught at CarnegieEvelyn and Jerry, both 82, are former Mellon University, played in the Pittsburgh patients at M. D. Anderson — Jerry for Symphony and had “a lot of musical work,” melanoma and prostate cancer, Evelyn for from nightclubs to musicals. Evelyn danced for breast cancer. Since they’ve experienced television and taught before a 45-year career firsthand the nonmedical expenses that with Saks Fifth Avenue. can pile up — extended hotel stays, meals, Jerry recalls one gig, a Ginger Rogers transportation — their gift will defray patients’ production, that indirectly taught the couple travel and lodging expenses. the importance of detecting cancer early. Jerry

had invited Evelyn to attend a rehearsal. That day three fellow musicians confided that a loved one was scheduled for a mastectomy.

Shocked and saddened, Jerry related the news to Evelyn as soon as he could.

“That’s how she proceeded to do a selfexam and found a lump,” he says. “If I hadn’t heard about these three women, perhaps she wouldn’t have found it so early. She’s the only one among those four cases who survived.”

Evelyn had a mastectomy in Pittsburgh.

Jerry’s melanoma diagnosis years later at age 46 introduced the couple to M. D. Anderson, and when her breast cancer returned, Evelyn had her second mastectomy in Houston.

Today the couple lives in West Palm Beach most of the year, summering in the mountains of North Carolina. They’re proud that their values will reverberate in the hearts of patients at M. D. Anderson.

“We’ve left the estate, totally, to M. D. Anderson — they saved our lives,” says Jerry.

— www.mdanderson/planyourlegacy.org

Read more donor stories at www.mdanderson.org/gifts.

Learn how you can help at www.mdanderson.org/gifts.

9

NewsMakers M. D. Anderson Ranks First in Cancer Care For the sixth time in the past eight years, M. D. Anderson is the No. 1 hospital in the nation for cancer care, according to the annual “Best Hospitals” survey published by U.S. News & World Report.

“This national ranking is a great point of pride among our employees and volunteers, one that we share with our patients, survivors and their families,” says John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of M. D. Anderson. “This year, with the national economic downturn and the impact of Hurricane Ike, the news is especially welcome as we redirect and recommit our resources to the many needs of those we serve.”

Improved access and short wait times for new patients seeking treatment at

M. D. Anderson have been a primary focus of the institution, in addition to helping Galveston-area cancer patients in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, preparing grant proposals for the new Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, seeking expanded research funding from the National Cancer Institute, and addressing the needs of a growing population of cancer survivors through three new pilot clinics for gynecologic, genitourinary and thyroid cancers.

M. D. Anderson has been ranked as one of the United States’ top two cancer hospitals since U.S.News & World Report began the survey in 1990.

In addition to the 2009 top ranking for cancer, M. D. Anderson surpassed its

#

M. D. Anderson ranked as the nation’s top cancer hospital.

Again.

subspecialty rankings of previous years with top listings in ear, nose and throat (2), urology (9), gynecology (12), digestive disorders (23) and diabetes and endocrine disorders (41).

The U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” rankings are based on a reputation survey of board-certified physician specialists around the nation, nurse-to-patient ratios and certain technologies and services available to patients and the community.

Podcast at www.mdanderson.org/news-and-publications/ itunes-u.

Collaboration to Speed Clinical Trials, Personalized Cancer Care Biopharmaceutical leader EMD Serono Inc. and M. D. Anderson have formed a strategic alliance to bring new drugs to patients faster. The agreement, set for three years with the potential to renew, is designed to provide M. D. Anderson with early insight into potential cancer treatments and to accelerate EMD Serono’s preclinical and early clinical research.

Translational research at M. D. Anderson will benefit from a strategic alliance with EMD Serono, a leader in the biopharmaceutical industry.

This nonexclusive alliance will draw on M. D. Anderson and EMD Serono, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, to design and conduct clinical trials for EMD Serono’s oncology product candidates. The collaboration brings together two leaders in the field of personalized medicine with a renewed commitment to translational research that will ensure the identification and clinical development of biomarkers to tailor cancer therapies to the needs of patients.

“The strategic alliance with EMD Serono allows us to collaborate with a leading biopharmaceutical organization to gain important, earlier insights into preclinical and clinical investigational compounds,” says Robert C. Bast Jr., M.D., vice president for translational research at M. D. Anderson.

In 2008, nearly 13,000 patients at M. D. Anderson participated in clinical trials exploring novel treatments, the largest such program in the nation. EMD Serono is evaluating its oncology clinical pipeline, along with key investigators at M. D. Anderson, to determine which Phase I clinical trials will benefit from the strategic alliance. The goal is to begin patient enrollment for selected trials in 2009.

New Chair of Clinical Cancer Prevention Arrives Powel Brown, M.D., Ph.D., Cancer Center and co-directed joined M. D. Anderson the college’s M.D.-Ph.D. program. in September as chair of Brown obtained his clinical cancer prevention. undergraduate degree from Brown replaces Ernest the University of North Carolina Hawk, M.D., who had served at Chapel Hill and earned his as chair ad interim since Ph.D. and M.D. from New York December 2007, when he University. He completed his joined M. D. Anderson as internal medicine residency vice president and division at Duke University Medical Powel Brown, M.D., Ph.D. head of cancer prevention.

Center and received training Brown comes to M. D. Anderson from at the National Cancer Institute. He also Baylor College of Medicine, where he served in the U.S. Public Health Service specialized in breast cancer treatment and Commissioned Corps, rising to the rank prevention, served on the faculty of the of commander. departments of medicine and molecular Previously Brown was on the faculty of and cellular biology, led the cancer The University of Texas Health Science prevention program of the Dan L. Duncan Center at San Antonio. He also

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Promise fall 2009

co-directed the Cancer Prevention and Health Promotion Program at the San Antonio Cancer Institute.

Brown’s primary research interest is in assessing cancer risk and developing chemopreventive agents to reduce that risk.

He conducted research, for example, showing that retinoids, derived from vitamin A, help prevent breast cancer.

These findings led to a clinical trial testing whether receptor-selective retinoids suppress breast cell growth among women at high risk of developing breast cancer.

A publication for friends of M. D. Anderson

Women Faculty Programs Leader Garners Recognition For her accomplishments in academic leadership and her dedication to developing women leaders, Elizabeth Travis, Ph.D., associate vice president for women faculty programs at M. D. Anderson, is the recipient of the Association of American Medical Colleges 2009 Women in Medicine Leadership Development Award.

Trained as an experimental pathologist,

Elizabeth Travis, Ph.D. Photo by F. Carter Smith

Travis serves as the Mattie Allen Fair Professor in Cancer Research and professor of experimental radiation oncology and pulmonary medicine. She launched the organization Women in Radiation Research and spearheaded leadership development workshops for the 8,000-plus-member Women in Cancer Research, an organization of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Travis is 2009-2010 chair of WCR. A founding member of M. D. Anderson’s Women and Faculty Administrators Organization, Travis has advocated for women faculty for decades. Since the establishment of the women faculty programs office in 2007, she has mentored, led policy changes, created professional development programs and established and secured endowment for the Margaret L. Kripke Award, which recognizes contributions to the advancement and promotion of women in cancer research and cancer science. In addition, she edited and

published “Legends and Legacies: Personal Journeys of Women Physicians and Scientists at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.”

“I can think of no one who has brought more energy and dedication to promoting career opportunities for women in academic medicine and provided more enduring contributions on their behalf than Dr. Elizabeth Travis,” says Margaret L. Kripke, Ph.D., special adviser to the provost.

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E-mail Promise@mdanderson.org.

Three Embark on an Odyssey of Learning and Discovery Each year promising young scientists vie for the coveted fellowships of M. D. Anderson’s Odyssey Program, which sponsors outstanding postdoctoral fellows pursuing innovative cancer research at the institution.

Oliver Bogler, Ph.D., associate professor of neurosurgery research, directs the Odyssey Program, which this year received 42 applications from 26 departments. All were reviewed by a 13-member advisory committee led by Kelly Hunt, M.D., professor of surgical oncology.

Three new Odyssey Fellows joined the program in September: • Sofie Claerhout, Ph.D., systems biology, whose adviser is Gordon Mills, M.D., Ph.D. • Calley Hirsch, Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biology, whose adviser is Sharon Dent, Ph.D. • Marites Melancon, Ph.D., imaging physics, whose adviser is Jason Stafford, Ph.D. Established in 2000, the Odyssey Program is funded by two endowments:

the Theodore N. Law Endowment for Scientific Achievement, funded by the late Mrs. Theodore N. Law; and the Scientific Achievement Fund, created by donations from H-E-B, Houston Endowment Inc., the Kimberly-Clark Foundation and The Cockrell Foundation.

The Odyssey Program guides budding scientists toward successful, independent careers while helping maintain M. D. Anderson’s high standards in research-based patient care.

“Making Cancer History” Book Signing

Historian James S. Olson, Ph.D., signed his latest book, “Making Cancer History: Disease & Discovery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center,” at a June reception at Tony’s restaurant in Houston. Donna and Tony Vallone, a Board of Visitors member, and guests enjoyed Olson’s unique perspective as a history professor at Sam Houston State University and as a cancer survivor who began treatments at M. D. Anderson almost 30 years ago. To learn more about the book, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, visit www.mdanderson.org/news-and-publications/publications/making-cancer-history. Pictured are, from left, Olson, Anne Mendelsohn, the Vallones and Raymond N. DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., provost and executive vice president of M. D. Anderson. Photo by Pete Baatz Learn how you can help at www.mdanderson.org/gifts.

11

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