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NEW YORK, November 12, 2019 — Today the Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) announced the awardees of its 2019 Scientific Grant Program during the Fourteenth Annual Lung Cancer Awareness Luncheon, held at The Pierre in New York City. Through this program, LCRF awarded $2.6 million in research grants to 12 investigators whose projects focus on basic, translational, clinical, health services and epidemiological research. In addition to its annual pilot grants, for the first time, LCRF awarded research grants through two additional funding mechanisms: one focused on overcoming disparities in lung cancer and one on improving the effectiveness of targeted therapies.

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. To date, LCRF has funded 370 research grants totaling nearly $34 million, the highest amount provided by an organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research.

“As a lung cancer researcher and former LCRF grantee, I know first-hand the importance and impact LCRF’s funding has on the careers of junior scientists,” said Katerina Politi, PhD, Chair of LCRF’s Scientific Advisory Board and Clinical Biologist and Associate Professor at Yale’s School of Medicine. “Through the grant program, LCRF supports both cutting-edge lung cancer research and researchers. We are confident that these projects will lead to advancements that will ultimately have a direct impact on lung cancer patients.”

Through its annual pilot grant program, LCRF funds innovative research focused on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of lung cancer. This year, LCRF will be funding four projects through this mechanism. Among them are the prestigious James B. Dougherty Award for Scientific Merit and the William C. Rippe Award for Distinguished Research in Lung Cancer. The James B. Dougherty Award for Scientific Merit is named in honor of Dr. James Dougherty, who served as the Chair of the LCRF Scientific Advisory Board for the past 13 years and is responsible for stewarding the growth of the grant program. The award is presented to the investigator whose proposal was selected for outstanding overall merit by the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board. This year’s recipient is Lingtao Jin, PhD, Assistant Professor at the University of Florida in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology. Dr. Jin’s research project is titled, “The role of protein kinase signaling in cisplatin-resistant ASCL1-high subtype small cell lung cancer.”

“It is my distinct honor to receive the James B. Dougherty Award for Scientific Merit,” said Dr. Jin. “This award provides critical support and funding to investigate the development of chemotherapy resistance in small cell lung cancer.”

LCRF’s William C. Rippe Award for Distinguished Research in Lung Cancer is presented to the investigator whose proposal not only demonstrated exceptional scientific merit but also exemplified an enduring commitment to making an impact in the field of lung cancer research. Benjamin Lok, MD, Clinician Scientist at the University of Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, was named the 2019 recipient of this award. His research project is titled, “Investigating a resistance mechanism mediated by a Skp, Cullin, F-box containing E3 ubiquitin ligase complex in small cell lung cancer.”

“I am incredibly honored to receive the William C. Rippe Award for Distinguished Research in Lung Cancer from the Lung Cancer Research Foundation,” said Dr. Lok. “This award is a testament to and recognition for the work my laboratory and clinical teams do every day towards the goal of improving outcomes for patients with lung cancer. We do this in partnership with our patients and colleagues – therefore this award is also for them.”

LCRF’s funding mechanism focused on overcoming disparities in lung cancer was founded with support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), in loving memory of Kathryn Louloudis. This year, LCRF will be funding four projects in this area, supported by additional corporate partners, focused on topics including gender, racial, and socioeconomic disparities in care and outcomes. These projects will address important questions across the care continuum and ultimately help to overcome the significant gaps in health equity among lung cancer patients.

Through a collaboration with Pfizer Inc., LCRF will be awarding four research grants focused on understanding ways to improve clinical practices for managing side effects in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are receiving targeted therapies. These research projects will leverage multidisciplinary approaches to help patients and their care teams manage side effects and receive the maximum possible benefit of these important therapies. This Lung Cancer Treatment Focused Research Grant Program is the first collaboration of its kind in lung cancer and is very important and timely to the many patients receiving targeted therapies.

In addition to the presentation of the 2019 Scientific Grant Program awards, LCRF’s Lung Cancer Awareness Luncheon featured two guest speakers. Giuseppe Giaccone, MD, PhD, Associate Director for Clinical Research at Cornell University delivered the keynote address. LCRF Board Member and lung cancer survivor Reina Honts shared her experience and talked about the importance of research funding and early detection.

The 2019 Pilot Grant Program award recipients include*:

Alice Berger, PhD
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Novel strategies for therapeutic target discovery in lung cancer

Lingtao Jin, PhD
University of Florida
The role of protein kinase signaling in cisplatin-resistant ASCL1-high subtype SCLC

Benjamin Lok, MD
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto
Investigating a resistance mechanism mediated by a Skp, Cullin, F-box containing E3 ubiquitin ligase complex in small cell lung cancer

Zhan Yao, PhD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Studies on the oncogenic function and mediation of drug resistance by ARAF in lung cancer

The 2019 Disparities in Lung Cancer Research Grant Program award recipients include*:

Melinda Aldrich, PhD, MPH
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Identifying determinants of racial disparities in lung cancer stage

Manali Patel, PhD, MPH
Stanford University
Reducing disparities in lung cancer through community partnerships

Betsy Risendal, PhD
University of Colorado Denver
Improving preventive care to address lung cancer disparities

Rajwanth Veluswamy, MD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Assessing the mechanisms underlying the association between sex and immunotherapy response

The 2019 Lung Cancer Treatment Focused Research Grant Program award recipients include**:

Ryan Gentzler, MD
University of Virginia
Real-time monitoring and modeling of symptoms and adverse events in lung cancer patients receiving oral targeted therapies for tumors with oncogenic driver mutations

Nisha Mohindra, MD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Using the novel 4R patient care sequences to improve the duration and outcomes of therapy in NSCLC patients receiving targeted treatment

Katharine Rendle, PhD, MSW, MPH
University of Pennsylvania
Implementation strategies for monitoring adherence in real-time (iSMART)

Christian Rolfo, MD, PhD, MBA
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Proactive monitoring of treatment related adverse events through a mobile application in NSCLC patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors: the “Empower Me” Digital Therapeutic Study

For more information about LCRF and the Scientific Grant Program, visit lcrf.org.

*These grants provide up to $150,000 in funding over a two-year period
** These grants provide up to $350,000 in funding over a two-year period

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About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation®
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 370 research grants, totaling nearly $34 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information, visit lcrf.org.

Posted in Announcements, Grants

NEW YORK (November 8, 2019) —In the United States, lung cancer claims more women’s lives each year than breast, ovarian, and cervical cancers combined. In many countries around the world, it has become the leading cause of cancer death in women. This November and December, the Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) is shining a spotlight on women and lung cancer, with the goal of educating the public about these staggering statistics.

“Everyone has women in their life—a loved one, friend, co-worker—so this disease truly does impact everyone,” said Joan H. Schiller, MD, Chair of LCRF’s Scientific Steering Committee. “Our goal is to raise awareness to better understand lung cancer risks, particularly for women, and improve outcomes for those diagnosed.”

Worldwide, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in women and over 500,000 women die of the disease each year. While lung cancer incidence remains lower in women than in men, the gap has been narrowing in recent years. With a higher proportion of lung cancer among nonsmokers occurring in women, these are troubling statistics. In an effort to raise awareness, LCRF has created a page on its website dedicated to women and lung cancer, http://lcrf.org/women. Visitors will learn the facts about lung cancer and will have the opportunity to read stories of women currently living with lung cancer.

LCRF is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward lung cancer research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. The organization’s mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of lung cancer. This campaign, focused on women and lung cancer, will help to highlight an important area that warrants additional study. “By talking about these grim statistics, we hope to raise awareness and highlight the importance of research and how lung cancer is affecting women,” said Schiller.

To learn more information and download a fact sheet on women and lung cancer, visit http://lcrf.org/women. This initiative is sponsored by Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Genentech and Takeda Oncology.

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About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation

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 provided $33 million in research grants to investigators around the world. In addition to funding lung cancer research, the organization focuses on lung cancer awareness and educational programs. The Foundation also hosts community events nationwide through the Free to Breathe Events Program. For more information, visit http://lcrf.org.

Posted in Awareness, Women & Lung CancerTagged

A team of 10 runners represented the Lung Cancer Research Foundation at the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 3. The group, made up of first-time marathoners and veterans alike, all ran in support of lung cancer research and awareness, a cause that hits close to home.

“As a thoracic oncologist myself who has worked for the last close to 20 years with countless patients suffering from lung cancer and who also actively participated in both clinical and translational research, I plan to run in memory of patients we have lost, in support of patients I am currently following and in great hopes for future generations of patients who we will be able to help better expecting great research advances ahead – as long as we can find the funding to keep our talented and motivated young scientists in our field through the help of foundations such as LCRF,” said Team LCRF runner Dr. Balazs Halmos, shown at right.

Team LCRF crushed the marathon, and they also crushed their fundraising goal, raising over $70,000 for lung cancer research!

Posted in Endurance Events

Many of LCRF’s investigators, including Scientific Advisory Board Chair Dr. Katerina Politi, presented at this year’s IASLC 20th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Barcelona. The discussions at this year’s conference highlighted the importance of lung cancer screening, biomarker testing, and advocating for more lung cancer research funding.

Dr. Katerina Politi provides an overview of how resistance to targeted therapies impacts lung cancer outcomes.

LCRF’s Senior Manager of Education and Outreach, Cristina Chin, represented the organization at the annual meeting of the Global Lung Cancer Coalition, which took place just days before. More research funding will make all the difference in lung cancer outcomes!

WCLC on Twitter



Read more on Twitter

Posted in Conferences
Kortni with Lesley

Kortni and Tiffany are sisters who lost a close friend, Lesley Demaio Duffy, at way too young an age. Lesley was only 38 – and pregnant with her second child – when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Not only was Lesley in the prime of her life, she was healthy, active, and had never smoked.

When Lesley died on July 15, 2018, she left behind her husband, Chris, and two small children. Lachlan was just 3 years old when his mom was diagnosed, and Camden was born shortly after.

Tiffany with Lesley
Tiffany with Lesley

“She was robbed of her future by this silent killer,” said Kourtni. “But she was lucky in some ways. At the time of her diagnosis, a new drug hit the market – it treated her specific type of lung cancer and gave her another two-and-a-half years with us.”

Tiffany and Kortni decided to form a team for the Chicago Lung Run so they could support research that would give others more time with their loved ones. Currently, Team DeMuffy is the event’s top fundraising team, raising nearly $20K.

At the Chicago Lung Run kickoff, the sisters shared the top two reasons for their success. “Tell people why raising money and funding lung cancer research is important to you,” Tiffany said. “Not only does this create awareness, but it also helps break the stigma associated with lung cancer.”

Their other tip? “Ask everyone you know,” said Kortni. “If you don’t ask, they can’t give!”

On event day, Tiffany was interviewed on Chicago’s Fox 32. See the clip below.

Posted in Fundraising, Women & Lung CancerTagged

The FDA approved a targeted therapy entrectinib (Rozlytrek) for either NTRK+ solid tumors or ROS1+ patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

This approval broadens the treatment options for patients with solid tumors that test positive for the NTRK genetic alteration whose disease continues to progress on standard treatment therapies. The NTRK genetic alteration is not exclusive to lung cancer and applies to any solid cancer tumors where NTRK is present.

As for patients with metastatic NSCLC who test positive for the ROS1 genetic alteration, this latest approval means ROS1 patients now have four targeted therapy treatment options. Read more here.

Posted in FDA News, Research

Southampton, NY (August 12, 2019)—Residents from the Hamptons community, New York City and beyond laced up their sneakers and hit the pavement yesterday for the Lung Cancer Research Foundation’s (LCRF) Fourteenth Annual Strides for Life Run/Walk, raising more than $365,000 for lung cancer research.

LCRF hosts its annual Strides for Life run/walk to raise awareness and funds for lung cancer research, in honor and memory of those who have been touched by the disease. Currently, lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in the world, yet per death, lung cancer is the most underfunded cancer. LCRF is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward lung cancer research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. The organization’s mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of lung cancer.

“Strides for Life is a special day where all those who have been touched by lung cancer come together to celebrate life and inspire hope for the future,” says Brendon M. Stiles, MD, Board Chair, LCRF. “The community has been a strong supporter of this event for so many years, raising $5.6 million to date. As a result, we’ve been able to fund the very best lung cancer research and help change what it means to face a lung cancer diagnosis.”

Nearly 600 participants took part in the Fourteenth Annual Strides for Life, which included a three-mile run/walk around Lake Agawam and 50-yard dash for children.

Whether they raced as individuals or as part of one of the 18 teams fielded this year, participants hit the pavement in honor of loved ones, lung cancer survivors, friends, families, and lung cancer patients. First over the finish line at the end of the three-mile run were:

  • Top Female 18+: Tara Farrell (Time: 18:07.9)
  • Top Male 18+: Charles Parsons (Time: 16:39.1)
  • Top Female 17 and Under: Colleen Cassidy (Time: 23:25.9)
  • Top Male 17 and Under: Luke Ellwood (Time: 16:31.8)

Sponsors of LCRF’s Fourteenth Annual Strides for Life included:

  • Pace Setter: New Mountain Capital
  • Single Stride: Citi Private Bank, Juice Press
  • Starting Line: Lung Cancer Screening Program at NewYork–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine
  • Sprinter: Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler, Nahins & Goidel, P.C.; Genentech;, Weill Cornell Medicine Cardiothoracic Surgery

In-kind donations were received from Boxed Water is Better, Juice Press, Perfect Bar, and RXBAR.

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About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation
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 provided $33 million in research grants to investigators around the world. In addition to funding lung cancer research, the organization focuses on lung cancer awareness and educational programs. The Foundation also hosts community events nationwide through the Free to Breathe Event Series.

Posted in Uncategorized

The way we understand small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is about to change thanks to the research being conducted by LCRF grantee Dr. Trudy Oliver and her lab at the University of Utah. Dr. Oliver and team have discovered a genetic alteration, MYC, that drives how SCLC tumors develop. The MYC alteration discovery may lead to a new treatment that could target this specific alteration. SCLC, a particularly aggressive form of lung cancer, is in need of more options for treatment especially since the current overall 5-year survival rate is just 6%. Read more about the research being done by Dr. Oliver in this article on the Huntsman Cancer Institute website.

“We targeted MYC-positive tumors and saw remarkable results, including tumor shrinkage and tumor death and a significant extension in overall survival,” says Milind Chalishazar, a PhD student in the Oliver lab, who conducted the laboratory work. “This suggests that we have identified a potential new therapeutic strategy that will improve lung cancer outcomes in the future.”

LCRF is proud to support this study through the William C. Rippe Award for Distinguished Research in Lung Cancer, which was awarded to Dr. Oliver in 2018.

We recently had a conversation with Dr. Oliver about her research. Read the interview here.

Photo courtesy Huntsman Cancer Institute

Posted in Research, Women & Lung CancerTagged

By Cristina Chin

You may have come across the acronyms EFGR, ALK, ROS1 and many more—all associated with genetic alterations found in lung cancer tumors. Thanks to their discovery in the past decade, the dawn of personalized medicine was born, bringing with it an array of treatment options for patients with those specific alterations.

But what about small cell lung cancer (SCLC), a highly aggressive type of lung cancer with a slim overall 5-year survival rate of just 6%? Turns out, we are just beginning to uncover the possibilities of personalized medicine for SCLC.

“Small cell lung cancer has been treated as a singular disease for over 40 years until recent discoveries show there are in fact molecular subsets,” Dr. Trudy Oliver from University of Utah explained. Trudy and her lab, funded by a 2018 LCRF pilot grant, are testing a drug called ADI-PEG20 that treats a specific subtype of SCLC. “Back in 2017, we were able to find the presence of a certain genetic alteration called MYC in small cell lung cancer tumors. With our current LCRF grant funding we are testing a treatment for this particular MYC alteration.”

Tumors high in MYC shrink significantly when deprived of arginine, an amino acid found in protein-rich foods such as meats, nuts, and legumes that is naturally synthesized in the body. “When paired with [ADI-PEG20], an enzyme that chews up extracellular arginine, we actually see tumor shrinkage and even tumor death in MYC positive SCLC,” Trudy explained.

The current standard of care for SCLC is chemotherapy. In mouse models, the ADI-PEG20 drug performed remarkably better than over 16 comparable chemotherapy treatments. “And toxicity is not as much of a concern with ADI-PEG20 because arginine is organically made in our own bodies and there are newer studies suggesting it may stimulate the immune system.”

Trudy understands how daunting it can be to see a loved one receive a lung cancer diagnosis. “A few years ago, my mother got a low-dose CT scan that showed a nodule … we didn’t know if it would grow or not, so it was decided to just monitor it. And it really hit home how stressful it can be to not know what your best options are.” Trudy, inspired by her mother’s story, is working hard to change the outcomes for patients living with SCLC.

“Drug resistance and the evolving nature of cancer are a reality, so we need something that’s evolving as well to keep up. Our immune system is designed to evolve, and that needs to be part of the answer. Cancer prevention is so important – imaging technology can help find tumors early, before they’re nasty.”

Posted in Research

On June 17, 2019 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for second or third-line treatment of patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Pembrolizumab is now the third immunotherapy drug available for this particularly aggressive type of lung cancer. This treatment indication expands upon the options for metastatic SCLC patients who are currently or have previously underwent chemotherapy and at least one other therapy but has continued to experience lung cancer disease progression.

This approval stems from the multi-cohort clinical trials of SCLC patients participating in either the KEYNOTE-028 or KEYNOTE-158 trials. The trial data show 94% of metastatic SCLC patients were responsive to treatment in the first six months. Serious adverse reactions such as pneumonia were observed in <2% of patients. Read more here

Posted in FDA News