Research 101 with Dr. Susan Love

How Palisadians Can Help Eliminate Breast Cancer

By SIERRA DAVIS | Pali Life Editor

Thanks to supporters and participants, Walk with Love raised more than $250,000 dollars for Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation’s breast cancer research last year. The annual 5K walk/run, which will be held at the Palisades Recreation Center on May 17 this year, raises necessary funds to support the clinical research at the foundation. The Post is proud to be a media sponsor for the event.

Clinical research is essential to ending breast cancer – the ultimate goal of Palisadian Dr. Susan Love, a breast cancer specialist and patient advocate, whose research provides information about how breast cancer starts in the cells in women’s bodies and improves understanding of the genetic and environmental factors that increase a woman’s risk of developing the disease.

Most recently, DSLRF has been collaborating with research teams at John Wayne Cancer Institute to study bacteria in the breast and a possible link to breast cancer. Preliminary data suggests that there may be protective bacteria present in some women’s breasts, Love told the Palisadian-Post.

There are many cancers that have now been shown to be caused by a bacteria or virus. Cancer of the cervix which is caused by the HPV virus and cancer of the stomach is caused by the bacteria helicobacter, Love said. In mice, breast cancer is caused by a virus passed on in mother’s milk. According to Love it would not be unusual to find that breast cancer in women has an infectious origin as well.

“This study is exploratory. In other words, we are first exploring the breast to see what bacteria and viruses normally live there,” Love said. “This is research and so we don’t really know what we will find, there are a lot of ifs, but we have to try what no one else is trying. I like to say that if we knew what we were doing, we wouldn’t call it research.”

Because scientists have a hard time finding women to volunteer for their studies, they typically study cell lines that have been developed in their labs, samples from tissue banks or conduct research on animals, like mice. DSLRF is working to change that through their Army of Women.

To collect additional data that could help guide the study, DSLRF will launch a Health of Women (HOW) Study questionnaire early this month that will record human-breast interactions (e.g., breastfeeding, sexual intimacy) that may be used to corroborate clinical findings.

“We depend on our research participants to help us recruit a wide diversity of women so that the data from the studies will apply to all of us,” Love said. “We need the Army of Women to represent all kinds of women of all sizes, shapes, ages, ethnicities, lifestyles and geographic areas. This is the only way we will truly learn about this disease.”

Women (and men) who are interested can register online by providing basic information, such as name, age, ethnicity, and city of residence. Email updates will announce new research studies looking for volunteers as well as detail the research project and who and what the researchers need. Those who meet the criteria and choose to participate can sign up with just a click.

The researcher will contact qualified participants for a secondary screening and to answer any questions you might have about study participation. If you meet the study criteria as determined by the researcher and are interested in taking part, the study researcher will let you know what you need to do next.

“Clinical research can be a slow process. There are always unexpected holdups or challenges, but having ready access to volunteers will help make this process go faster. And this is urgent,” Love said.

Women and men can join the Army of Women at www.armyofwomen.org.

Team Up to Walk with Love

 Walk with Love  is a 5K walk/run fundraiser benefiting Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation’s innovative breast cancer research. The walk/run for a future without breast cancer will be May 17 at the Palisades Rec Center, and virtually nationwide.

Many Palisadians will participate on a team of walkers or runners like the one formed by Palisades Elementary School.

“We are proud to say this is Pali Elementary’s third year with a team participating in Walk With Love. My community service co-chair, Lisa Steele, and I hope to make this the biggest and best team yet,” said Stephanie Dahlberg, team captain. “So many of our Pali families have been impacted by breast cancer in one way or another, and this community event is a great way to show our support and raise research funds for a very worthwhile cause.”

Team Pali Elementary’s fundraising goal is $2,500 and 50 team members.

Dahlberg said the team has currently raised $1,285 and are 13 members strong and growing.

Registration/check-in and Family Festival begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by the Opening Ceremony and 9:45 a.m. The 5K walk/run begins at 10 a.m. To register for the walk/run, to donate or volunteer, visit www.walkwithlove.kintera.org. The Post is proud to be a media sponsor for the event.

Are you and your organization participating in this year’s Walk with Love as a team? Tell the Post about it at MyPost@palipost.com.

–SIERRA DAVIS

Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation is funding the research projects below:

Project Title Breast Cancer Risk in Young Women Study

Researcher Paul Goodfellow, PhD, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, and Jennifer Ivanovich, MS, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

Study Summary The purpose of the study is to learn what genetic factors may play a role in the development of breast cancer in young women. The researchers need to recruit 5,000 women who were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer when they were 40 years old or younger for this study.

Project Title Breast Cancer Microbiota Study

Researcher Ece Mutlu, MD, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois

Study Summary The purpose of this study is to find out what types of bacteria are found in the intestines and how these bacteria metabolize estrogen and other female hormones. The researchers are comparing the bacteria found in women who have never had breast cancer, women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer within the last 5 years, and women who have never had breast cancer but who have a first-degree relative WITH breast cancer.

Project Title Interpersonal Therapy for Depression in Breast Cancer Study

Researcher Carlos Blanco, MD, PhD, New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University, New York, NY

Study Summary The purpose of this study is to see which type of talk therapy is the most effective treatment for depression in women and men who have had a breast cancer diagnosis. It is open to women and men who were diagnosed with stage I-IV breast cancer more than six months ago.

Project Title Genomic Analysis of Breast Cancer Risk

Researcher Harry Ostrer, MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York

Study Summary The purpose of this study is to identify new genetic mutations for breast cancer. The research team will analyze blood samples from two groups of survivors: women with a strong family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer and women who had early onset breast cancer but no family history. All study participants must have been tested for— and found not to have—the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic mutations.

Project Title Genomics and Breast Cancer Risk in Hispanic Women Study

Researcher Susan Neuhausen, PhD, City of Hope, Duarte, CA

Study Summary The goal of this study is to learn more about breast cancer in Hispanic women by studying Hispanic women with breast cancer and Hispanic women who have never had breast cancer. The research team has enrolled Hispanic women with breast cancer for the study. Now, they need Hispanic women who have never had any type of cancer (skin cancers are okay). If you enroll in this study, you will NOT receive any individual genetic test results. Every participant is assigned a coded study number, and no genetic information is connected to her name. There is no way for the researchers to ever tell you anything about your test results. By taking part in this study, you will help researchers help future generations of Hispanic women.

Project Title A Pilot Study of the Flaxseed Effects on Hormones and Lignans: Role of Race, Genes, and Gut Microbiome

Researcher Susan McCann, PhD, Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Study Summary The purpose of this study is to determine whether adding flaxseed (a food high in compounds that can change hormones) to a regular diet changes hormones that are related to breast cancer risk and if the effect of flaxseed differs between African- American and Caucasian women.

Project Title Acupuncture for Joint Symptoms in Women with Early Stage Breast Cancer

Researcher Southwest Oncology Group, (SWOG)

Study Summary The purpose of this study is to test whether 12-weeks of acupuncture can help reduce joint pain or stiffness caused by hormonal therapy for breast cancer. The researchers need to enroll 228 women in this study.

Project Title A Study to Identify Predictors of Response to Duloxetine in Breast Cancer Patients with Chronic Pain (HUM00075181)

Researcher Norah Henry, University of Michigan, MD, PhD

Study Summary The purpose of this study is to better understand why some breast cancer survivors who have chronic pain and are treated with duloxetine will have their level of pain improve, while others will not. Women with breast cancer who have chronic pain will be asked to enroll. Participants will be treated with duloxetine for 7 weeks in order to determine how the medication affects both their level of pain and their sensitivity to pain. The research team hopes to understand more about why breast cancer survivors develop pain after their diagnosis and treatment, and why some people respond better to this type of treatment. The research team needs 84 women to participate in this study.

Project Title A Phase II Study of Neratinib in Metastatic HER2 Non-amplified but HER2 Mutant Breast Cancer

Researcher Cynthia Ma, M.D., Ph.D., Washington University, St Louis, MO

Study Summary The purpose of this study is to see whether neratinib is effective in treating HER2-negative metastatic tumors that have this specific HER2 mutation. The first part of the study is a preliminary screening. During this part of the study, your tumor tissue will be tested to see if it has the HER2 mutation the researchers are looking for. If your tumor has the mutation, you will be given more information about the main research study, which is investigating the effectiveness of neratinib.

Project Title Asian American Community Health Initiative

Researcher Scarlett Lin Gomez, PhD, at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California; Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum; Asian Health Services; Asian Americans for Community Involvement

Study Summary The overall goal of this study is to gather information that can help us understand why breast cancer rates are high and increasing among some Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander women in the San Francisco Bay Area. To do this the research team needs to gather information from both women with and without breast cancer. The research team has already enrolled women with breast cancer, and those without breast cancer in the other Asian American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander race/ethnic groups, therefore, at this time, the Army of Women is only recruiting South Asian (e.g., Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepalese and Sri Lankan) women age 55-69 who have never had breast cancer.

Project Title BEAT Cancer Study

Researcher Edward McAuley, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and Laura Rogers, MD, MPH, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

Study Summary This study is evaluating the effectiveness of the BEAT Cancer program and comparing unique metabolism measurement tools not previously available for this type of physical activity study in cancer survivors. The research team will compare the effects of the intervention to usual care (written materials about exercise for cancer survivors) on short- and longer-term physical activity adherence among breast cancer survivors.