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The Brian Morden Foundation/Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative Sarcoma Vaccine Study Fund at the University of Michigan
PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 3 PM. EST, Friday, January 28, 2005
Personal Tragedies Bring Hope to Sarcoma Patients Developing a Vaccine for Treating Sarcoma is a Primary Goal
The Brian Morden Foundation and the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative have joined forces to fund research on a vaccine to treat recurrent/relapsed Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare cancer. The vaccine is being developed by a team of oncology specialists at the University of Michigan Health System led by Dr. James D. Geiger. This study continues an initial Phase I Clinical Trial funded by the National Institutes of Health that Dr. Geiger and his team initiated (see articles, below). Funds from the Brian Morden Foundation and the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative, in addition to grants from the University of Michigan will allow doctors to offer a new alternative to patients whose traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy have failed.
Background: When standard chemotherapy, radiation and surgery fail, like it did in the cases of Brian Morden and Liddy Shriver, the chances for survival from Ewing’s sarcoma drop significantly because the cancer cells have become treatment resistant and there is nothing to stop the spread of the disease. Previous attempts to develop a cancer vaccine have been largely ineffective because, in many cases, the vaccines have not contained enough specific tumor identification materials (antigens) to locate and destroy the cancer cells. Dr. James Geiger, from the University of Michigan's C. S. Mott Children's Hospital, is developing a new approach to obtaining enough tumor cell information to create a vaccine that they hope will recognize resistant tumor cells and kill them. In preliminary studies, the new vaccine has demonstrated the ability to reduce bulk tumor and, in a few cases, bring patients into remission. But, more research is needed to measure the effectiveness of the vaccine. This requires more patients, funding, and research.
The Brian Morden Foundation, named in honor of Brian, a 19 year old who succumbed to Ewing's Sarcoma in February 2003, is a not for profit organization that funds Ewing’s Sarcoma cancer research, supports the staff and patients on the Oncology Service at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, and awards Brian Morden Foundation Scholarships for higher education. It is located in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and offers information about its activities on its website
The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative is named after 37 year old Elizabeth (Liddy) Shriver who died of Ewing's Sarcoma in January 2004. It is a not for profit organization that was created to increase public awareness of sarcoma and the lack of young adults in cancer-based clinical trials. It undertakes activities that help improve the quality of life for people with sarcoma. In addition to working with the Brian Morden Foundation in support of the University of Michigan’s vaccine research, the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative has also supported sarcoma research at Stanford University, Baylor University, and the University of Pennsylvania. More information about the Initiative can be found on their website and through their Electronic Sarcoma Update Newsletter (ESUN).
Contact information The Brian Morden Foundation 2809 Columbia Dr., Altoona, PA 16602 Fred Morden Phone: 800-997-7278 or 563-445-0449
The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative 17 Bethea Drive, Ossining, NY 10562 Bruce Shriver Phone: 914-762-8030 Fax: 914-941-9181 brucesr@liddyshriversarcomainitiative.org
The University of Michigan Maria Grupe, Development Officer University of Michigan, Department of Surgery 2101Taubman, P. O. Box 0346 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Phone: (734) 647-9984 or (800) 588-5844 Fax (734) 763-5615
Articles related to research by Dr. Geiger and colleagues A Phase I Trial of Tumor Lysate-pulsed Dendritic Cells in the Treatment of Advanced Cancer, published in Clinical Cancer Research, April 2002.
Vaccination Of Pediatric Solid Tumor Patients with Tumor Lysate-pulsed Dendritic Cells Can Expand Specific T Cells and Mediate Tumor Regression, published in Cancer Research, December 2001.
V2N1 ESUN Copyright © 2005 Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative
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