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2006 Research Grants Dedicated in loving memory of
A Virus for the Treatment of Breast Cancer
Dr. Edward Shillitoe¡¯s study entitled ¡°A Virus for the Treatment of Breast Cancer¡± will look at delivering a specially created virus (mutant herpes simples virus Type 1) to laboratory animals with breast cancer to see if this virus can enter the breast cancer cell and destroy it. From research that has been done in the past, this particular virus can only grow in malignant epithelial cells.
This study will determine if this virus is toxic to breast cancer cells which are similar to other cells it has been found to kill. The advantage of this would be that the only affected cells should be breast cancer cells. This would be a novel way of delivering therapy to women with breast cancer that is likely to have few side effects and be more effective.
Dedicated in loving memory of
Effects of Aromatase Inhibitors on Bone
Aromatese inhibitors such as letrozole and Arimidex are widely used in the management of postmenopausal breast cancer which is estrogen receptor positive. Some recent studies have suggested that these aromatase inhibitors may also increase the risk of bone loss and bone fragility. This would be a particularly worrisome problem in postmenopausal women who are already at risk for bone loss.
With the help of the $50,000 grant from the Carol M. Baldwin breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY, Inc., this study will look at the rate of bone loss and bone turnover in animals receiving aromatase inhibitors and will then see whether this bisphosphonates which are used to treat osteoporosis actually suppress this bone turnover to prevent bone loss. This will also potentially give us information about the benefit of the bisphosphonates in reducing tumor metastases in the bone in patients on aromatase inhibitors.
Dedicated in loving memory of
Mind Body Intervention in Breast Cancer Treatment
The $50,000 grant from the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of CNY, Inc. will help design a method to see whether psychological stress can cause significant physical side effects from breast cancer and breast cancer treatment, particularly chemotherapy, which could be prevented by complimentary medicine techniques improving the patients faith practices and mind body control could reduce these side effects.
It is hoped that by helping the patients strengthen their spiritual self and ability to psychologically control their body¡¯s response to stress they will be able to tolerate chemotherapy, have less nausea, and actually have less suppression of their blood counts and bone marrow during chemotherapy. This would be a tremendous advantage, as it would allow women to tolerate their treatment, receive more therapy and therefore, have a better prognosis. |
