Innovative Treatment Modalities

The development of a new drug to the market can require spending hundreds of millions of dollars. So, how can the CBCRP expect to accomplish very much by spending tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on an innovative treatment research grant? The lesson with Herceptin is that small groups of researchers can provide both the key information and the incentive to develop a new drug. This might not happen in an environment dominated by ‘the bottom line.’ We know that individuals and small groups of creative researchers are still willing to tackle the immense hurdles of treating breast cancer. These researchers are in touch with the latest knowledge of the disease, and they are impacted by the human needs expressed by breast cancer advocates and activists.

The CBCRP supports innovative treatments research for multi-disciplinary, exploratory, and innovative research projects. Some representative topics in 2001 include:

Dietary Indole Effect on Estrogen Urinary Metabolites
Bjeldanes, Leonard
Firestone, Gary
University of California, Berkeley
Dalessandri, Kathie
Stanford University
1 year, $89,925

In Vivo Effects of Chinese Herbal Extracts on Breast Cancer
Campbell, Michael
University of California, San Francisco
2 years, $200,000

Enhanced HER-2 Directed Liposomal Therapeutics
Drummond, Daryl
California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute
3 years, $465,182

Protein Factor PPARg & Vitamin A Compounds in Breast Cancer
James, Sharon
The Burnham Institute
2 years, $86,400

PPARd Ligands for Inhibition of Breast Cancer Progression
Murphy, Brian
SRI International
2 years, $373,535

A New Genetic Vaccine Therapy for Breast Cancer
Nelson, Edward
University of California, Irvine
1 year, $100,000

Targeting the EphB4 Receptor to Inhibit Breast Tumor Growth
Pasquale, Elena
The Burnham Institute
1.5 years, $188,442

Blood Vessel Markers in Breast Cancer
Ruoslahti, Erkki
The Burnham Institute
2 years, $389,120

Novel Technologies to Identify Tissue-Selective Estrogens
Schaufele, Fred
University of California, San Francisco
1 year, $75,000

Patient-Individualized Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer
Silverman, Daniel
University of California, Los Angeles
3 years, $296,994

Engineering Antibodies Specific for Breast Cancer Proteases
Sun, Jeonghoon
University of California, San Francisco
2 years, $80,000

Herba Scutellaria Barbatae for Metastatic Breast Cancer
Tripathy, Debasish
University of California, San Francisco
2 years, $232,364

Selective Targeting of Breast Cancer with Radioiodide
Wapnir, Irene
Stanford University
2 years, $315,200