Developing a Vaccine for Treating Sarcoma

The Brian Morden Foundation and the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative are delighted to announce that Dr. James Geiger and his research team at the University of Michigan are now actively seeking eligible participants for the vaccine pilot study which the two foundations have helped fund.

The Vaccine Pilot Study was funded as one way to help turn two tragedies into hope for others. Both Brian Morden and Liddy Shriver lost their battles and their lives to Ewing’s Sarcoma. Their families established The Brian Morden Foundation and The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative respectively as a way to continue their fight.

This study will assess whether the experimental tumor vaccine can stimulate the immune system to fight cancer in addition to standard treatment. The study is being conducted primarily to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine to generate an immune response against the tumor, prolonging survival without tumor recurrence and to measure the side effects which occur in association with vaccine use. The study treatment will consist of high-dose chemotherapy followed by infusion of the patient’s own peripheral blood stem cells plus the administration of a series of 3 tumor vaccines.

Cancer AnswerLine 1-800-865-1125

Principal investigator
James D. Geiger, M.D.
Co-Investigators
John E. Levine, M.D.
Raymond J. Hutchinson, M.D.
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 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.

Contact information:
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

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