Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Investment Opportunity: Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Clinic Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women, surpassed only by lung cancer. Annually, approximately 69,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with a difficult-totreat and deadly variation known as triple-negative breast cancer. Through creation of a dedicated Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Clinic, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center will increase understanding of the disease, identify targeted treatments and give women hope for a future beyond breast cancer. Sobering Statistics Of the more than 231,000 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, more than 40,000 are expected to die from the disease. Close to 30 percent of those who lose their battle will succumb to triplenegative breast cancer. This rare form of the disease is present when cancer cells in the breast do not have estrogen or progesterone receptors and also have little or no human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). As a result, triple-negative breast cancer does not respond to most common breast cancer treatments such as hormone therapy and drugs that target estrogen, progesterone and HER2 in cancer cells. The lack of proteins in this deadly cancer essentially renders most traditional treatments ineffective. Triple-negative breast cancer, which tends to grow and spread more rapidly than other forms of the disease, often strikes younger women. African American and Hispanic women are among those most commonly afflicted with the disease. Now, cancer care is on the threshold of dramatic change. Clinical oncologists predict the field will advance more rapidly in the next 20 years than it has in the past 50 thanks to advances in clinical research. Searching for New Treatments With no commercially available targeted therapy for triple-negative breast cancer, treatment is currently limited to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation – none of which is particularly effective in curing the disease. By establishing a Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Clinic that is dedicated to researching and delivering novel treatments targeting the disease, Banner MD Anderson will give women more treatment options and even greater hope. The clinic will also attract an array of pharmaceutical, biotech and academic partners that share our goal of improving outcomes for women diagnosed with what is widely considered the most deadly form of breast cancer. Being able to do so, however, requires a dedicated infrastructure, with specialized space, experienced staff, meticulous data collection, and blood- and tissue-sample collection and storage facilities. Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center currently operates a Comprehensive Breast Program, accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. The Triple-Negative Breast Clinic will be an instrumental component of the breast program. It also will play an important role in advancing the cancer center’s research efforts to better understand the biologic basis of the disease and, in turn, give patients greater access to novel treatments and investigational medications. Development of targeted therapies presents the best opportunity to arm women for the battle against triple-negative breast cancer. With philanthropic support from a generous community, Banner MD Anderson will be able to establish a Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Clinic and play an even bigger role in the quest to make cancer history.