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The Long Island Van Halen Tribute Album was released Feb. 26 to honor Eddie Van Halen, who died in 2020 after being diagnosed with lung cancer. All proceeds are being donated to LCRF in his memory to fund future lung cancer research.

Only 300 copies of the CD, which was released through ilLogical Records, were printed. The CD, PDF booklet and digital download can be purchased at livanhalentribute.com for $24.95.

LCRF executive director Dennis Chillemi (top center) attended a radio show celebrating the album’s release.

Below you can watch a music video of “1984 / Panama” by the band Hellgate. This is one of the album’s 17 tracks featuring Van Halen covers by various artists.

Posted in Fundraise Your Way
Dr. Ambrogio (photo credit: Marco Carulli)

Chiara Ambrogio, PhD, LCRF grantee and 2018 recipient of the LCRF Scientific Merit Award, was recently profiled in the Italian publication Lentiapois. Dr. Ambrogio returned to Italy after 10 years doing research in Spain and the U.S.

She is an ambassador for “Just the Woman I Am,” which promotes gender equality and related issues while supporting university research.

In the profile, she speaks to the unique visibility of scientific research during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of coordinating efforts globally.

Read the English translation of the article here.

Posted in People, Research, Women & Lung CancerTagged

LCRF will be a part of the upcoming CISCRP’s virtual “AWARE For All” clinical research educational event on April 15 from 4:30-6 PM ET to increase awareness of the importance of clinical research and clinical trial participation.

Hear the stories from patients from the Northeast U.S. in a facilitated and lively conversation with researchers and health professionals. The webinar program also includes fun health exercises and segments with information that can help you make informed decisions about your health.

The AWARE for All – Northeast educational event will cover the Boston, New York, Washington DC, Hartford/New Haven and Baltimore areas with a specific focus on these therapeutic areas and medical conditions:

  • Pulmonary/Asthma
  • Infectious Disease/Lyme Disease
  • Neurology/ Parkinson’s Disease
  • Oncology/Cancer

You will also have an opportunity to visit the Informational Exhibit Center that offers more friendly, informative resources about clinical trials and these specific medical conditions. LCRF will be hosting a virtual booth in the center, providing an overview of our research funding and ways to get involved.

Learn more about this event and register at LCRF.org/awareforall.

Register

Posted in Conferences, Partnerships

The Lung Cancer Research Foundation is pleased to announce this year’s requests for proposals (RFPs) for the LCRF-AstraZeneca Grant Program, LCRF Pilot Grant Program and LCRF Research Grant on Disparities in Lung Cancer.

  • The LCRF-AstraZeneca Grant Program supports research that will help to address the most profound challenges posed by targeted therapies and immune therapies in lung cancer.

    As LCRF’s newest funding mechanism available to lung cancer researchers, the LCRF-AstraZeneca Grant Program was announced on February 23, 2021. Its objective is understanding primary and acquired resistance to targeted therapies, and the biology surrounding that resistance. View the RFP here. Applications will be submitted through a two-step process consisting of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and full proposal. Applicants whose LOI submission is reviewed favorably will be invited to complete a full proposal. Letters of Intent will be accepted through April 30, 2021.
  • The LCRF Pilot Grant Program supports innovative projects across the full spectrum of basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, health services, and other research, on a very broad variety of topics related to lung cancer. View the RFP here. Applications will be submitted through a two-step process consisting of a Letter of Intent (LOI) and full proposal. Applicants whose LOI submission is reviewed favorably will be invited to complete a full proposal. Letters of Intent will be accepted through April 30, 2021.
  • The LCRF Research Grant on Disparities in Lung Cancer supports research projects focused on a wide variety of disparities-related topics in lung cancer from investigators of all career levels. While scientific advances continue to reduce lung cancer incidence and deaths, the disease disproportionately affects various groups such as African Americans, Native Americans, low socioeconomic status populations, and people from certain geographic locations. Despite progress to reduce the burden of tobacco, disparities in tobacco-related morbidity and mortality remain, and inequitable receipt of evidence-based lung cancer care continues to compound these disparities.[1][2][3][4] RFP applications will be accepted through May 7, 2021.

Please note that applicants may only apply for one LCRF grant per grant cycle. Eligibility requirements and instructions for application are included in the RFP documents linked in each of the funding mechanism’s description.

[1] American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans 2019-2021. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2020.

[2] Bach, P. B., L. D. Cramer, J. L. Warren, and C. B. Begg. “Racial Differences in the Treatment of Early-Stage Lung Cancer.” The New England Journal of Medicine 341, no. 16 (October 14, 1999): 1198–1205.

[3] Corso, Christopher D., Henry S. Park, Anthony W. Kim, James B. Yu, Zain Husain, and Roy H. Decker. “Racial Disparities in the Use of SBRT for Treating Early-Stage Lung Cancer.” Lung Cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 89, no. 2 (August 2015): 133–38.

[4] Yang, Relin, Michael C. Cheung, Margaret M. Byrne, Youjie Huang, Dao Nguyen, Brian E. Lally, and Leonidas G. Koniaris. “Do Racial or Socioeconomic Disparities Exist in Lung Cancer Treatment?” Cancer 116, no. 10 (May 15, 2010): 2437–47.

Posted in Announcements, Grants

Over $900,000 in Research Grants Focused on Resistance to EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) and Immunotherapies  

NEW YORK, NY (February 23, 2021) – The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) today announced a collaboration with AstraZeneca to fund over $900,000 in research grants focused on understanding resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR TKIs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), including therapeutic approaches to overcome these mechanisms, as well as biomarkers of immune-mediated adverse events.

Lung cancer is currently the number one cause of cancer death both in the U.S. and globally among both men and women. An estimated 625 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. every day. As research funding grows, new treatments become available and survival rates improve. Promising new treatment options exist including targeted therapies and immunotherapies. Certain patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may benefit from targeted therapies which interfere with specific molecules involved in the growth and progression of cancer. For example, patients with EGFR mutation positive NSCLC can frequently benefit from treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).  Despite clinical improvement with these therapies, acquired resistance invariably develops and insights into the mechanisms of resistance are needed as well as approaches to overcome and/or prevent resistance. 

ICIs, which function by enhancing the body’s immune response against cancer, have also led to profound improvements in the treatment of both locally advanced and metastatic NSCLC. Sustained clinical benefit of ICIs is not uniformly observed, however, and biological insights and biomarkers are needed to better guide patient selection to maximize their therapeutic benefit.

This collaboration seeks to support research studies that focus on understanding mechanisms of primary and acquired resistance to 3rd generation EGFR TKIs, and to identify more effective approaches to  predict response and recurrence in patients treated with ICIs in locally advanced NSCLC. This collaboration will also promote advancing scientific knowledge in early stage and resectable NSCLC, including identification of predictive biomarkers of disease recurrence.

“LCRF is honored to continue its 15-year legacy of identifying and supporting outstanding lung cancer research projects over the years. We are excited to partner with AstraZeneca, who continues to be a generous supporter of our mission,” said Katerina Politi, PhD, Chair, LCRF Scientific Advisory Board. “The specific focus of this grant program is to study treatment resistance and how that resistance may be overcome or prevented, addressing this very important issue that affects many lung cancer patients undergoing treatment.”

To learn more about LCRF and its grants program, visit www.LCRF.org.

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About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF)
The Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. LCRF’s mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. To date, LCRF has funded 383 research grants, totaling nearly $36 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information, visit LCRF.org.

Posted in Announcements, PartnershipsTagged

Dr. Dan Raz spoke with our #TogetherSeparately group on Feb. 18. Dr. Raz, assistant professor and co-director of the Lung Cancer and Thoracic Oncology Program at City of Hope, studies new ways of overcoming chemotherapy resistance in lung cancer, as well as barriers to screening. He shared about his experience working in his clinic during COVID times, how the vaccine rollout was going in his neck of the woods, and offered advice for lung cancer patients to keep safe while waiting for their vaccine.

Posted in #TogetherSeparately

130 Organizations Send Letter to Biden Urging Priority Access to the COVID-19 Vaccines for Cancer Patients and Survivors

Cancer puts individuals at high risk for severe illness and death from COVID-19

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, 130 organizations and cancer centers sent a letter to President Joseph R. Biden, key members of his administration, and leading public health officials at state health departments  to underscore the importance of prioritizing patients with active cancer and survivors of cancer when administering the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines. The broad spectrum of organizations that signed this letter represent laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; health care professionals; millions of patients with cancer and survivors of cancer; and patient advocates from across the United States.

Recent research has shown that patients with cancer are at increased risk of severe illness and death if infected with the virus. Moreover, patients with cancer often receive frequent in-person care, which increases their risk of exposure to the virus. Certain survivors of cancer also have a higher probability of infection and COVID-related death compared to the general population.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes that cancer places individuals at higher risk for severe COVID-19, many states are broadening and simplifying the groups eligible for COVID-19 vaccination to speed up distribution of the vaccines. The letter notes that while mass, rapid vaccination is a worthy goal, the currently limited supply of vaccines means that many who are at high risk for severe illness and death from COVID-19, including patients with cancer and survivors of cancer, may continue to wait in line for many months if high-risk groups are not provided with priority access. The letter, initiated by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), urges the Biden administration and public health officials at the state level to continue to prioritize patients with cancer and survivors of cancer in statewide vaccination plans. Read the full letter on the AACR website or as a PDF.

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For media inquiries, please contact Julia Gunther at julia.gunther@aacr.org or (770) 403-7690.

Posted in AnnouncementsTagged

During the IASLC 2020 World Conference on Lung Cancer held last month, several researchers presented findings that document how the pandemic has influenced lung cancer healthcare delivery over the past year.

One study by Roxana Reyes, MD, in Barcelona suggested the pandemic has led to fewer but more serious diagnosed cases of lung cancer, leading to poorer patient outcomes.

Other studies looked at patient needs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of virtual prehabilitation for patients scheduled for lung cancer surgery, and CT scans as a diagostic tool for asymptomatic infection.

Details can be found here.

Posted in Conferences, In the NewsTagged
Dr. Joan H. Schiller

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) recognized Joan H. Schiller, MD, FASCO, with its Paul A. Bunn, Jr. Scientific Award during the recent World Conference on Lung Cancer. Dr. Schiller is a member of the LCRF Board and chair of its Scientific Steering Committee.

Dr. Schiller’s early work was influential in defining treatment for both SCLC and NSCLC before the era of targeted therapy and immunotherapy. She helped break the taboo of talking about lung cancer and expanded the public’s understanding of lung cancer as a disease caused by various factors. Her work has helped break stigmas and give voice to lung cancer as a women’s disease.

Read more about the award and Dr. Schiller’s work here.

Posted in In the News, People, Women & Lung CancerTagged