Why is BCRF’s support of breast cancer research so important right now?
Why is BCRF’s support of breast cancer
research so important right now?
DR. McDAID: Breast cancer survivorship is increasing, thanks to the unwavering commitment of
organizations like BCRF. But a proportion of survivors with more aggressive or recurrent disease will
require future therapy, and the available therapies may not work for them. We still need to develop
therapies that can kill cancer cells and spare normal cells. There are several approaches: creating cancer
drugs that target tumor cells, devising alternate dosing schedules to limit the cumulative toxicity of the
drugs, or developing drugs that are less toxic. BCRF remains steadfast in its support of these important
research endeavors.
DR. McDAID: Breast cancer survivorship is increasing, thanks to the unwavering commitment
of organizations like BCRF. But a proportion of survivors with more aggressive or recurrent disease
will require future therapy, and the available therapies may not work for them. We still need to develop
therapies that can kill cancer cells and spare normal cells. There are several approaches: creating cancer
drugs that target tumor cells, devising alternate dosing schedules to limit the cumulative toxicity of the
drugs, or developing drugs that are less toxic. BCRF remains steadfast in its support of these important
research endeavors.
DR. CHANDARLAPATY: Over the last forty years, we’ve witnessed the transformative power of breast cancer research—much of it conducted by BCRF-funded researchers. In the 1980s, it was discovered that the HER2 protein was over-expressed in breast cancers. By the 1990s, a new therapy had been developed to target that protein, and by the early 2000s that therapy was saving lives. The treatments continued to improve over the next two decades, and now we have an explosion of anti-HER2 therapies that can improve outcomes for many patients. However, there are many cancers that don’t have HER2 proteins, or that develop resistance to our best therapies, and we still need to find ways to help these patients. This requires time and innovation, and BCRF really fosters innovation in its research program.
DR. CHANDARLAPATY: Over the last forty years, we’ve witnessed the transformative power of
breast cancer research—much of it conducted by BCRF-funded researchers. In the 1980s, it was
discovered that the HER2 protein was over-expressed in breast cancers. By the 1990s, a new therapy had
been developed to target that protein, and by the early 2000s that therapy was saving lives. The
treatments continued to improve over the next two decades, and now we have an explosion of anti-HER2
therapies that can improve outcomes for many patients. However, there are many cancers that don’t have
HER2 proteins, or that develop resistance to our best therapies, and we still need to find ways to help
these patients. This requires time and innovation, and BCRF really fosters innovation in its research
program.