Research Studies Bring Hope to Ewing’s Sarcoma Families: There is, as you can plainly see, strength in numbers

The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative is pleased to announce the funding of two research projects at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. Both of the studies, focused on research in Ewing’s sarcoma, will be directed by Stephen Lessnick, M.D., Ph.D. at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.

Sarcoma is a cancer of the connective tissues, such as nerves, muscles, joints, bone, or blood vessels. It can arise anywhere in the body and is frequently hidden deep in the limbs. Although sarcomas are rare in adults (about 1% of all adult cancers are sarcomas), they are more frequent in children (between 15-20% of all children's cancers are sarcomas). There are two basic categories of sarcoma, soft tissue sarcoma and bone and cartilage sarcoma. Ewing’s sarcoma is one of the few sarcomas that occur both in bone and in soft-tissue.

Bruce and Beverly Shriver, co-founders of the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative said that the two grants, totaling $50,000, are being made “in memory of Liddy Shriver, Brian Morden, Krystle Smith, Shane Duffy, Conor O'Sullivan, Paul Onvlee, and Allen Strehlow and to honor those currently fighting this disease”. These grants were made possible as a result of a growing network of family foundations and individuals who recognize the urgent need for sarcoma research. Most of the donations for these grants were contributed in conjunction with the Team Sarcoma 2006 Initiative held earlier this year. The Team Sarcoma Initiative is an internationally coordinated set of events meant to increase public awareness of sarcoma and much needed funds for sarcoma research. The Shrivers said, “We are extremely grateful to all of those involved in raising these funds, in particular, supporters of the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative, supporters of the Brain Morden Foundation, three Irish families — Patricia and Chris Smith, Joan Duffy, and William and Catherine Walsh, and three members of the Adult Bone Cancer Survivors support group — Mary Sorens, Rachel Baumgartner and Ashley Frost. We are also grateful to the family and friends of those who lost a loved one to Ewing’s sarcoma and whose donations are helping sponsor these grants, in particular Maribeth Allen and Val Strehlow and Truus van der Spek (from the Netherlands). There is, as you can plainly see, strength in numbers.” Dr. Lessnick commented, “This funding is particularly meaningful to us as it represents a real partnership between researchers, patients, and their families, in improving the care of patients with sarcoma. It allows us to perform investigations that could be considered too risky for more traditional funding sources.”

The ultimate goal of the first study, “New Approaches for EWS/ETS Detection in Ewing’s Sarcoma” is to improve physicians’ abilities to provide an accurate diagnosis of Ewing’s sarcoma to patients, to provide physicians’ with molecular data which may be relevant to prognosis, and to provide a new non-invasive assay for the measurement of treatment response. Dr. Lessnick noted that, “Improvements in the way we detect the genetic abnormality in Ewing’s sarcoma are critical to our ability to accurately diagnose patients. More sensitive and specific testing approaches may result in a simple blood test to diagnose Ewing’s sarcoma.”

The goal of the second study, “Analysis of NR0B1 in Ewing’s sarcoma” is to help to characterize the molecular mechanisms involved in Ewing’s sarcoma development. Additionally, by fully understanding these mechanisms, Dr. Lessnick and his team hope to identify new therapeutic approaches for patients with this devastating disease. Dr. Lessnick said that “we hope that understanding this protein will lead the way to new approaches for treating Ewing’s sarcoma. This is the first time that this protein has been shown to play a role in cancer development.”

Dawn and Fred Morden, co-founders of the Brian Morden Foundation summarized their excitement about the two grants, “We are once again grateful to be teaming with the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative to fund sarcoma research. Dr. Lessnick is a bright, talented and well-respected researcher. We are truly fortunate to have him direct his attention to these two studies.”

Contact Information
The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative undertakes activities that help improve the quality of life for people dealing with sarcoma. Central to this mission are its goals of increasing public awareness of sarcoma and the lack of young adults in cancer-based clinical trials and raising funds for sarcoma-related research. The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative is named after Elizabeth (Liddy) Shriver, who died of Ewing's Sarcoma in January 2004 at the age of 37. More information about the initiative can be found on their website http://liddyshriversarcomainitiative.org and through the Electronic Sarcoma Update Newsletter (ESUN).

LIDDY SHRIVER SARCOMA INITIATIVE
http://liddyshriversarcomainitiative.org
17 Bethea Drive, Ossining, NY 10562
Bruce Shriver 914 762-8030
E-mail: info@liddyshriversarcomainitiative.org

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 cancer research, supports pediatric patients, families, and staff of oncology units especially in Pennsylvania, and awards BMF Scholarships for higher education. It is located in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and offers information about its activities on its website http://brianmordenfoundation.org.

THE BRIAN MORDEN FOUNDATION
http://brianmordenfoundation.org
2809 Columbia Dr., Altoona, PA 16602
Fred Morden, representing the BMF, 800-997-7278 or 563-445-0449
email: fdj@brianmordenfoundation.org