Breast and Ovarian Cancer Program - 08

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT The overall goal of the expanded Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (SKCCC) Breast and Ovarian Cancer (BOC) Program is to integrate expert knowledge and improve breast and ovarian cancer prevention, detection and treatment through bidirectional laboratory and clinical research. SKCCC leadership recognized that a number of areas of expertise among breast and ovarian cancer researchers overlapped. That led to the incorporation of the Breast Cancer Program and Ovarian Cancer Research Group into one Program, the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Program. The new Program focuses on common susceptibility, as well as genetic, hormonal and familial factors, biomarkers and therapies that target both tumors. The overarching hypothesis that guides the BOC Program is that the definition of molecular pathways that are deregulated in breast and ovarian cancers, both common and unique, will provide insights into how altered signaling components can be used for the development of innovative prevention, early detection and therapeutic strategies. The Program proposes three specific aims: 1) To develop novel approaches to risk assessment and prevention (including chemoprevention) of breast and ovarian cancers, 2) to expand discovery and development of prognostic and predictive biomarkers, and 3) to exploit institutional and unique expertise to identify novel therapeutic targets and better regimens that will improve survival outcomes. The Program consists of 28 faculty members drawn from eight departments. Nineteen have peer-reviewed research funding and one has a major NCI T32 Training Grant. Major Programmatic initiatives are funded through the National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AVON Foundation for Women, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation, HERA Women's Cancer Foundation, Richard W. TeLinde Endowment and Susan G. Komen. Large annual gifts from AVON and Under Armour supplement this CCSG- supported Program and support multidisciplinary research and care, the Johns Hopkins-AVON Breast Center, and a new clinical space to open in 2017. Leadership participation in the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium and the National Clinical Trials Network ensures robust accrual to clinical trials. The Program receives $12.8 million total costs in peer-reviewed funding. Faculty members hold appointments in seven different graduate programs and have published more than 392 publications during the project period? 109 (28%) were Intra-Programmatic, 120 (31%) were Inter-Programmatic and 225 (57%) were multi- institutional collaborations. Interactions with members of other SKCCC Programs are critical to Programmatic success and include the Cancer Biology (CB), Cancer Molecular and Functional Imaging (CMFI), Cancer Immunology (CI), Cancer Prevention and Control (CPC), Cancer Chemical and Structural Biology (CCSB), Prostate Cancer (PC), and Hematologic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Transplant (HMBMT) Programs.