From the Director's Desk
Looking Back, Looking Forward
In order to maximize our impact on breast cancer, the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP) is initiating a CBCRP-driven Program Initiative to tackle research questions that California is uniquely positioned to address. This initiative will focus on three overlapping issues: the relationship between breast cancer and the environment, uncovering the reasons for the unequal burden of breast cancer, and defining the influence of lifestyle on breast cancer. We have set aside 30 percent of our funding for the next five years, which will result in at least $17 million, to devote to these investigations. With the help of a task force comprised of researchers and advocates from across the country, we will determine how these resources can best be leveraged to make the biggest leaps forward in tackling these questions.
In this newsletter, you will find more details—how we came to this decision, what our Core Funding (investigator-initiated) program will look like, and our plans for launching the new Program Initiative. Here I will provide a broad perspective.
In 1994, the California Breast Cancer Research Program began its work towards having a significant impact on the burden of breast cancer in California. At that time, a national group of experts gathered together with the founding advisory Council and staff to discuss what the priorities for the Program should be and how these could best be implemented. Now, ten years later, we have taken a step back from the day-to-day, year-to-year view of the Program and taken a broader look, with the goal of charting a wise path for the CBCRP for the next decade.
The CBCRP has the potential to change the course of our understanding of breast cancer and to launch the discoveries that will bring an end to this disease. The three-year analysis we have just completed—of where we have been and where we are going—has initiated a big step toward making this vision a reality.
What has the CBCRP accomplished in the last ten years?
Since 1994, the CBCRP has funded 569 grants:
- totaling nearly $150 million
- to 494 researchers
- at 62 institutions across the state
CBCRP research has resulted in:
- More than 600 peer-reviewed journal articles
- More than 300 oral presentations
- More than 300 abstracts
- More than 40 book chapters
- Training of 118 Postdoctoral Fellows
- Training of more than 60 undergraduates and graduate students
- Creation of 56 collaborative research teams
But these are only numbers. Behind these numbers is an impressive collection of discoveries and progress in our knowledge of breast cancer.
Through CBCRP-funded research, a safer method of detecting breast cancer has been developed and is being tested. Tumor markers have been tested for their ability to predict response to specific chemotherapy. We have found that some forms of Essiac tea may not be safe, and one form may actually stimulate breast cancer. We are reducing barriers to breast cancer screening for disabled women and reducing barriers to women's successful return to work after breast cancer surgery. We are helping agencies deliver better support services by learning what works. We have supported the development of therapies as diverse as snake venom, fish oils, and herbal medicines. We learned that drugs used for diabetes and other safe agents might help the body mount its own immune response to breast cancer. We have learned more effective ways to deliver early detection services and supported research into new theories on breast cancer causes.
These are just a few examples of the broad range of findings that our funding has produced and perhaps speaks more to the progress we have made than the numbers cited above.
What are the CBCRP's strengths?
We have built a peer review system that is recognized throughout California and the nation as among the best—the fairest, the most thorough, and the most open to innovation. We have earned the respect of the scientifi community and built a solid reputation for scientifi integrity.
The program supports some of the most innovative leaders and projects in breast cancer research today. We are recognized as a leader in encouraging innovation in breast cancer research.
We have been leaders in the movement to include advocates in a meaningful way throughout the research funding process. No other agency matches the degree to which we have brought advocates and scientists together, from our review committees, to our Council, to our Symposia, and to the research we fund.
Our relatively small size and the dedication of our staff makes it possible for us to interact on a personal level with every one of our applicants. This gives us the ability to nurture ideas, bring people together, and make things happen that would not happen on their own.
We are as transparent as possible and report to the public on a regular basis. Our Web site, Symposium, Annual report, Advances, and newsletters are designed to entice and inform the public.
We have the strength of our experience of trying multiple approaches to hasten progress in breast cancer research. At the beginning, in 1994, we had four priority issues and five different award types, four of which were common to other agencies such as the NIH. In the intervening years, we have experimented with 14 new award types and five new priority issues, as well as numerous adjustments to existing priority issues. These changes have all been attempts to infl uence the direction of breast cancer research and maximize our impact.
And finally, we evaluate everything we do. This allows us to learn from our successes and to change course when we do not see the results we want.
How can we have the most impact on the burden of breast cancer in California?
Our constant challenge is to move the CBCRP forward, to ensure that we have the greatest possible impact on breast cancer. To do this, we feel we must focus our efforts much more than we have in the past ten years. For the CBCRP to reach its true potential as a leader and catalyst for progress against breast cancer, we are changing strategies and committing to a small number of specifi targets. And to have the most powerful impact, we have chosen those specific targets based on our strengths, the needs of California, and the special opportunities and resources the state provides.
Marion H. E. Kavanaugh-Lynch, M.D., M.P.H.,
Director of the CBCRP
