PRESS RELEASE FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 3 PM.
EST, Friday, January 28, 2005
Personal Tragedies
Bring Hope to Sarcoma Patients Developing a Vaccine
for Treating Sarcoma is a Primary Goal The Altoona, Pennsylvania based Brian Morden Foundation and the Liddy
Shriver Sarcoma
Initiative (New York) have 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 Health System 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. Background: When standard
chemotherapy, radiation and surgery fail, like it did in the
cases of Brian Morden and Liddy Shriver, the chances for survival
from Ewingıs Sarcoma drop significantly because the cancer cells
have become treatment resistant and there is nothing to stop
the spread of the disease. Previous attempts to develop a cancer
vaccine have been largely ineffective because, in many cases,
the vaccines have not contained enough specific tumor identification
materials (antigens) to locate and destroy the cancer cells. Dr. James Geiger, from the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott
Children's Hospital, is developing a new approach to obtaining
enough tumor cell information to create a vaccine that they
hope will recognize resistant tumor cells and kill them.
In preliminary studies, the new vaccine has demonstrated
the ability to reduce bulk tumor and, in a few cases, bring
patients into remission. But, more research is needed to measure
the effectiveness of the vaccine. This requires more patients,
funding, and research. 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 Ewingıs Sarcoma cancer research,
supports the staff and patients on the Oncology Service at Children's
Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, and awards Brian Morden Foundation
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 is named after 37 year old Elizabeth
(Liddy) Shriver who died of Ewing's Sarcoma in January 2004. It is a not for profit organization that
was created to increase public awareness of sarcoma and the
lack of young adults in cancer-based clinical trials. It undertakes
activities that help improve the quality of life for people
with sarcoma. In addition to working with the Brian Morden Foundation
in support of the University of Michiganıs vaccine research,
the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative has also supported sarcoma
research at Stanford University, Baylor University, and the
University of Pennsylvania.
More information about the Initiative can be found on
their website http://liddyshriversarcomainitiative.org
and through their Electronic Sarcoma Update Newsletter (ESUN). Contact information: The
Brian Morden Foundation 2809
Columbia Dr., Altoona, PA 16602 fdj@brianmordenfoundation.org The
Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative 17 Bethea
Drive, Ossining, NY 10562 brucesr@liddyshriversarcomainitiative.org
The
University of Michigan Maria Grupe, Development Officer office
(734) 647-9984 toll
free (800) 588-5844 cell
(734) 645-8936 fax
(734) 763-5615
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