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Previous Update from Dr. Lessnick, a recipient of one of our research grants:

In terms of science, we’re making pretty solid progress all around.  In terms of a “lay person version,” as you know, we work on the genetic mutation that causes Ewing’s sarcoma.  This mutation creates a protein, called EWS/FLI, that serves as a master-regulator of gene expression in these tumors.  We recently made a surprising finding:  EWS/FLI regulates at least some genes by using “junk DNA” in the human genome.  Approximately 50% of the human genome may be “junk DNA,” that is, DNA with no known function.  EWS/FLI seems to have figured out how to use some of these regions, and in doing so, induces Ewing’s sarcoma.  This work was just published in a pretty high-profile journal.

Additionally, through our studies of the genes that are regulated by EWS/FLI, we have some VERY PRELIMINARY data about a drug that may be useful for Ewing’s sarcoma.  This drug is called vorinostat, and it’s from Merck.  It blocks a class of proteins, called histone deacetylases.  These proteins participate in gene regulation.  We’ve worked out a series of connections by which EWS/FLI turns on a second protein called NKX2.2.  NKX2.2 uses histone deacetylase inhibitors to regulate even more genes.  By blocking this pathway, we can block the growth of Ewing’s sarcoma tumor cells in the laboratory.  We’re now starting to see if we can do this in a mouse model of the disease.  If that looks good, then we’d try to bring this agent to a clinical trial.

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Personal Tragedies Bring Hope to Sarcoma Patients
Developing a Vaccine for Treating Sarcoma is a Primary Goal

September 2006 - Dr. Geiger and his research team are actively looking for eligible participants for the vaccine pilot study which the Brian Morden Foundation has helped fund. For more information, please see study details which includes a brief summary of eligibility requirements and contact information.

August 2006 - Dr. Geiger reported the following in an email, "We have all approvals and are ready to start evaluating patients for the trial.  We also should be able to provide a link to a website with info about the trial." As soon as we receive that information, we'll post it here.

September 2008 - Dr. Geiger reported the following in an email, "10 patients have completed the trial so far. We have some results back on 8 of them. 5 out of 8 have shown a response to their tumor in the immune testing. It is still a little early to tell too much and a few patients have progressed. We are currently giving some patients booster vaccines to hopefully improve the response to tumor. We will know more over the next several months."

Background Information: 

January 28, 2005 - The Brian Morden Foundation and the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative joined forces to fund research on a vaccine to treat recurrent/relapsed Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare cancer. The vaccine is being developed by a team of oncology specialists at the University of Michigan Medical Center led by Dr. James D. Geiger. This study continues an initial Phase I Clinical Trial funded by the National Institutes of Health that Dr. Geiger and his team initiated. Funds from the Brian Morden Foundation and the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative, in addition to grants from the University of Michigan will allow doctors to offer a new alternative to patients whose traditional chemotherapy and radiotherapy have failed. See Vaccine Pilot Study
proposed by Dr. James D. Geiger. See press release.

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