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Vera Bradley Breast Cancer Research Laboratories Update

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Bloomington, Indiana (October 30, 2008) — Vera Bradley Foundation’s commitment for a total of $10 million to the Indiana University Cancer Center has resulted in the naming of the Vera Bradley Breast Cancer research Laboratories.

Slated to be complete by 2008, this new facility will be housed inside the Cancer Center expansion on the Indianapolis Campus. The center, a partnership of IU School of Medicine and Clarian Health Partners, is now under construction at the corner of West Michigan Street and University Boulevard.

The $150 million structure, which will be connected to IU Hospital on the IU Medical Center campus in Indianapolis, will make the most advanced treatment facilities and modern, comfortable resources available at Indiana’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center providing clinical care.

The 405,216-square-foot building is scheduled to open in 2008. The new research building will result in a three-building complex of scientific research laboratories connected to the IU Cancer Center. Many of the scientists in the complex will be working to bring the results of basic scientific research to the bedside in new treatments for cancer patients.

Translating Science, Transforming Lives - There is no gap between discovery and treatment at Indiana University Cancer Center. Our scientists and physician researchers are transforming breast cancer on multiple fronts: targeting cancer treatments to eliminate side effects, identifying those at risk for cancer and developing prevention strategies, and improving treatments for patients with metastatic disease.

George Sledge, M.D., Co-Director of the IU Cancer Center’s Breast Cancer Program and the Ballvé-Lantero Chair in Oncology, leads an international research study to determine how best to individualize therapies for women with recurrent breast cancer. He is identifying genetic and proteomic differences in women to help physicians predetermine which drugs will be most helpful to women with breast cancer that has spread to vital organs.

An integral part of breast cancer research at the Indiana University Cancer Center is Jonathan’s Mouse Fund. Jonathan’s mice are being used to test new classes of drugs that inhibit the growth of tumor-sustaining blood vessels by targeting cancer cells in different ways improving upon currents therapies.

No two cancer patients respond identically to treatment. Linda Malkas, PhD, is developing biomarker profiles to distinguish patient differences so that the most appropriate therapy for breast cancer patients is designed and delivered. She is also working to identify molecular patterns to predict risk. Her goal is to distinguish between women who will not develop breast cancer and those who will. Dr. Malkas is Co-Director of the IU Cancer Center’s Breast Cancer Program and the Vera Bradley Chair in Oncology.

Harikrishna Nakshatri, PhD, isolates and studies breast cancer stem cells as potential treatments targets. His theory is that the stem cell is within the tumor mass but most likely escapes treatment because of its enhanced ability to survive treatment.

He also is working to determine if the type of stem cell (i.e. lung, bone, brain, etc) predetermines where the cancer metastasizes. The potential of his research is to be able to predict at the time of initial surgery, the chances of metastasis to bone, lungs or brain. The goal of this research is to design treatments to prevent growth of cancer cells in those organs. Dr. Nakshatri is the Marian J. Morrison Investigator.

Directing another major trial is Kathy Miller, M.D., who is testing the efficacy of a drug that inhibits the development of tumor-sustaining blood vessels in women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time. Last year Dr. Miller reported dramatic benefits of the same drug in women with recurrent, late-stage breast cancer. Dr. Miller’s patients will be the first in the world with access to this new therapy. Dr. Miller is the Sheila D. Ward Scholar in Oncology.

Imagine taking a small ‘test dose’ of therapy and using special x-rays to determine if your breast cancer will respond to that treatment. That’s the goal of two projects led by Dr. Kathy Miller and her colleagues. Imaging studies in animals predict which breast cancers will respond to a novel anti-angiogenic agent recently found to have activity in some patients with advanced breast cancer. Those same imaging studies are now being tested for the first time in IU Cancer Center breast cancer patients. In a related project, capecitabine, a commonly used chemotherapy, has been radiolabeled to allow it to be detected by special x-rays called PET scans.

Robert Goulet, M.D., is looking for early signs of breast cancer in women who are at high risk for developing this disease. He is using a technique known as ductal lavage to collect cells lining the milk ducts for laboratory investigation. IU Cancer Center scientists are documenting various changes in the genetic make-up of these cells that might signal a progression from a normal state to a cancerous state.

Donated blood samples of more than 2,000 “Friends for Life” continue to be studied by Bryan Schneider, M.D., to determine the differences in the genes that control the growth of blood vessels. If the genetic variations that help identify women at high risk for aggressive cancers can be identified, screening and treatment recommendations could be altered to help save more lives.

Research to determine how treatments might affect a women’s fertility is underway at the Indiana University Cancer Center. Dr. Schneider believes clues can be found in genes that control the body’s metabolism of chemotherapy drugs. His goal is to predict which women might experience early menopause as a result of breast cancer treatment.

Mary Ellen’s Tissue Bank, the world’s largest normal-breast tissue bank, is directed by Anna Maria Storniolo, M.D. This tissue bank is a repository of normal and cancerous breast tissue and corresponding personal health and lifestyle information. The goal of the bank is to use the data to enable Indiana University Cancer Center researchers to study yet unknown risk factors and biomarkers for breast cancer by comparing the normal and cancerous tissue.

David Flockhart, M.D., PhD, is directing a $12 million research project to predict responses to hormonal therapies in post-menopausal women who have had breast cancer. This major study will focus on how variations in genetic differences affect individual responses to drugs that reduce estrogen. In a different study, Drs. Flockhart and Storniolo have recently reported that some antidepressants given to treat side effects of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen can limit the effectiveness of that treatment.

Susan Clare, M.D. PhD, is developing a data base to link breast cancer research results at Indiana University Cancer Center to drug studies world wide. The data bank will allow Dr. Clare and her colleagues to study individual responses to breast cancer therapy. Their goal is to develop unique approaches to treatment for every patient, eliminating unnecessary treatments for women with breast cancer.

Dr. Clare and collaborators at Purdue University are exploring nanotechnology for the treatment of breast cancer. Nanoparticles, which are 1/80,000,000 of the width of a human hair, have the potential to deliver new treatments to cancer cells through extremely small pathways that traditional treatments cannot penetrate.

Dr. Clare is studying the subgroup of breast cancers that are known as the “triple negative tumors.” These are tumors that do not express the estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor or the Her2/neu receptor. These tumors are particularly virulent and very difficult to treat because they do not respond to anti-estrogen therapy or to Herceptin. Dr. Clare has developed a novel model to reproduce the development of these estrogen-resistant cells that will help researchers study new ways to approach these breast tumors.

The IU Cancer Center Breast Cancer Program welcomes your philanthropic support. Please Contact: Mary Maxwell (317) 278-2130 or mmaxwell@iupui.edu.

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