California Breast Cancer Research Program Awards $14.6 million to Researchers
—Lyn Dunagan, CBCRP Communication Project Coordinator
We are excited to announce the California Breast Cancer Research Program's tenth cycle of funded research projects seeking improvements in the prevention, treatment, and quality of life for those affected by breast cancer. During a rigorous two-step evaluation process, 43 applications from 26 institutions and community organizations were selected for funding.
The projects focus on a wide range of research topics. Nineteen basic science projects will study the biology of the breast cell and our understanding of breast cancer; eight projects will pursue prevention and risk reduction solutions; five projects will study new detection and treatment options; and eleven projects will focus on the community impact of breast cancer. Highlights of some of the innovative projects include the following:
Stem Cells in Breast Cancer Metastasis
Brunhilde Felding-Habermann, Ph.D.
John Yates, Ph.D.
Evan Snyder, M.D., Ph.D.
Scripps Research Institute and The Burnham Institute
This research team will isolate and study the progenitor stem cells from breast cancers that give rise to metastasis and cause disease recurrence when therapy fails the patient. They will use protein and genetic profiling to identify the stem cell biomarkers associated with metastasis and incorporate the concepts from neuronal stem cell biology to advance our understanding of breast cancer.
Expanding Rural Access: Distance Delivery of Support Groups
Susan Ferrier, R.N.
Cheryl Koopman, Ph.D.
Mary Anne Kreshka, M.A.
Northern Sierra Rural Health Network, Stanford University, and Sierra
College
This community-based project will examine the benefits of videoconferencing to provide support services for rural women to reduce disparities and provide psychosocial support. The eight-week planned intervention is accompanied by a workbook, and the investigators plan to develop a manual for others to implement this approach.
Oxidative Stress and Estrogen Receptor Structural Changes
Bradford Gibson, Ph.D.
Christopher Benz, M.D., Ph.D.
Buck Institute for Age Research
These collaborators will study the effects of quinone oxidants, common in the human diet, on the underlying biology of breast cancer at the level of the estrogen receptor, which might reveal a new model of breast cancer etiology by linking environmental effects with estrogen receptor molecular changes.
Young Breast Cancer Survivors: Ten Years Later
Joan Bloom, Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley
Younger women with breast cancer are a segment of the population that is increasing in number and in life expectancy. This study plans to survey 400 women under the age of 50 to examine their physical, social, psychological, and spiritual components for the quality of life at both five and ten years after diagnosis.
Identifying Metastatic Breast Cells from Peripheral Blood
Kristen Kulp, Ph.D.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
This study examines the question of whether metastatic breast tumor cells circulating in the peripheral blood can be positively identified by creating a chemical image of the individual cells. Dr. Kulp will use surface imaging mass spectrometry to measure protein-specific changes in circulating tumor cells that are characteristic of metastasis.
Normal Mammary Biology of Phosphorylated Prolactin
Ameae M. Walker, Ph.D.
University of California, Riverside
Prolactin is the growth hormone responsible for causing breasts to grow, mature during pregnancy, and produce milk. A growth inhibitory version of prolactin is found at elevated levels in breast milk, but the significance of its presence has not been explained. The goal of this project is to determine the role of inhibitory prolactin on the milk side of the breast duct and to ultimately determine whether it contributes to the protective effect of early pregnancy.
Broad Support
The CBCRP supports several levels of research experience. This year we are funding ten postdoctoral fellowships; four dissertations; 14 collaborative projects, including three projects with community organizations as co-equal researchers; seven larger-scale RFA projects; and ten high-risk/high- reward grants pursuing novel approaches to breast cancer issues.
Regionally, the grants are split evenly between northern and southern California organizations and institutions, including both large institutions like The Burnham Institute in La Jolla and smaller organizations such as the Northern Sierra Rural Health Network in Nevada City.
The California Breast Cancer Research Program is the largest state-funded breast cancer research funder in the country. We receive funds from a portion of the tobacco tax, voluntary contributions through state income tax Form 540, and individual donations. Ninety-five percent of our funds go directly to research and education for the prevention, treatment, and cure of breast cancer.
Funding Research through Tax Donations
Last year, California taxpayers donated $646,664 to the California Breast Cancer Research Program through a voluntary check-off area on their state income taxes. That money is earmarked specifically for research projects that could make the greatest impact on California women, and so the following projects have been funded through the Tax Check-off Program:
Decision Support in Rural Underserved North Coast Counties
Jeff Belkora, Ph.D.
Sara O'Donnell
University of California, San Francisco, and Mendocino Cancer Resource
Center
Women living in rural areas and facing a breast cancer diagnosis often have travel, language, and cultural barriers to receiving in-person consultations from the specialists that help them make the necessary decisions about their care. This collaborative team will study the effectiveness of a telephone-based consultation planning service on patients in rural areas.
Characterizing Breast Cancer Cells in Blood and Bone Marrow
Robert Carlson, M.D.
Stanford University
Dr. Carlson will use a special diagnostic instrument, called a high dimensional fluorescenceactivated cell sorter (HiD FACS), to study biomarker characteristics of individual cancer cells from patients' blood or bone marrow to predict disease recurrence.
Breast Cancer Prevention with Phytochemicals in Mushrooms
Shiuan Chen, Ph.D.
Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope
White button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) contain chemicals that inhibit aromatase, an estrogen- producing protein that plays a significant role in estrogen-dependent breast tumors. This study will examine the hypothesis that an extract from white button mushrooms suppresses breast tumor formation.
Breast Cancer Functional Imaging with Optics and MRI
Nola Hylton, Ph.D.
Bruce Tromberg, Ph.D.
University of California, San Francisco, and University of California,
Irvine
This team will combine the best features from two technologies for breast cancer early detection. Their aim is to find ways to make the functional parameters from optical imaging complementary to high resolution images derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition to cancer detection, this new imaging approach would be useful to study the impact of menopausal status, hormone replacement therapy, and pre-surgical chemotherapy on the breast's physiology.
Apogossypol Derivatives for Breast Cancer Therapy
Maurizo Pellecchia, Ph.D.
The Burnham Institute
Recent identification of proteins specific to breast cancer cells have given researchers new ideas in looking for breast cancer therapy drugs that would enhance or replace traditional chemotherapy and reduce or eliminate chemo's toxic side-effects. The goal of this study is to design a new breast cancer therapy based on a derivative of the natural cancer therapeutic, gossypol. New analogues of apogossypol will be developed and optimized for their ability to neutralize the Bcl-xl protein (a protein involved in programmed cell death) and kill tumors while leaving the normal cells alone.
PBDEs in tissues of women with and without breast cancer
Myrto Petreas, Ph.D., M.P.H.
California Department of Health Services
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PDBEs) are a class of chemicals used as flame retardants in many commonly used consumer products. These chemicals accumulate in human fatty tissue. California women have the highest known concentration of PDBEs in the world, so this study will see whether high PDBE levels in fatty tissue correlate with an increased risk of breast cancer. This grant application was submitted in response to several requests by community agencies.
