Cancer’s leading thinkers. Together in one room.
THROUGH THE DECADES • CONTINUED Promoting the exchange of ideas between researchers is essential. One of the major aims of the Foundation is to facilitate interactions between investigators working in different areas of cancer research. We know that one of the best ways to achieve progress in cancer research is to encourage the cross fertilization of ideas between people working in different scientific and clinical disciplines. This has been a major goal for the Foundation over the past four decades. As the Foundation has grown, we have turned our attention to cancers other than neuroblastoma. Over the past 40 years, the development of a range of radiotherapy and drug treatments for patients with cancer has improved outcomes. In addition, new fields have also emerged that offer more effective therapeutic opportunities for patients. Two clear examples are the stimulation of a patient’s own immune system to destroy their cancer cells (immunotherapy); and personalized medicine – the optimization of treatments that target an individual’s specific disease. The Foundation has run several meetings on these novel approaches over the years and has contributed to accelerating and improving the development of new therapies. Different types of immunotherapy have been used to treat patients with a variety of diseases from childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to breast cancer. Learning from the successes achieved in one disease accelerates therapeutic developments in other conditions. The Foundation has also focused on improving the diagnosis of cancer. Although cancer is a broad term that covers many different diseases, all cancers are easier to treat if they are identified at an early stage, rather than when the cancer has progressed (advanced cancer). Rapid diagnosis and treatment gives the patient a much better chance of a good prognosis and survival. The Foundation is not backward looking - we continue to look for new ways of diagnosing and treating a wide range of cancers. Two examples of novel approaches include: selectively starving cancer cells of the nutrients that they need to grow; and investigating why some cancer cells spread (metastasize) throughout the body while others do not. Forty years on from the establishment of the Forbeck Foundation, cancer has not yet been beaten. However, we have seen and celebrated progress in the management of many different types of cancer. But there is so much more to do. Our strategy of helping in the fight against cancer is unique. We continue to strive to make a difference. The Forbeck Foundation thanks all of its donors and hopes that you will be able to maintain your support over the coming years so that we can continue to honor Billy Forbeck’s memory and help patients live longer and healthier lives.
FORUM RESULTS
The Forbeck Foundation is improving how we track the impact of our Forums. By keeping us updated on the papers, collaborations, grants, and clinical trials that result from these discussions, you help us showcase the real-world outcomes of our work. We’ve made it easy to share your updates via a new form on our website (forbeckforums.org, under the “Forms” tab). As a thank you, we’ll be offering Forbeck Foundation swag to those who share their results. For example, Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko, PhD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Olga Anczuków, PhD, The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center, co-chaired a 2023 Forum on RNA Splicing in Cancer. This collaboration led to the publication of Steering Research on mRNA Splicing in Cancer Towards Clinical Translation in Nature December 2024. To read the paper, visit: https://rdcu.be/dWuxY.
“THIS PAPER OUTLINES THE KEY DISCUSSIONS AND CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED DURING THE FORBECK FORUM, EMPHASIZING THE OBSTA- CLES TO EFFECTIVELY TARGET CANCER VULNERABILITIES CAUSED BY ABNORMAL RNA SPLICING,” SAID DR. ANCZUKÓW.
Another example comes from the 2022 Forbeck Forum on Neuroendocrine Cell Fate in Development and Cancer which led to significant progress in research and treatment. Dr. David McConkey (Johns Hopkins) and Dr. Cory Abate-Shen (Columbia) both reported new collaborations, publications, and even clinical trials stemming from the meeting. Dr. McConkey’s team is enrolling patients in a clinical trial (NCT05312671) to test whether certain cancer subtypes respond better to a combination of atezolizumab and chemotherapy. Dr. Abate-Shen’s research, inspired by Forbeck discussions, contributed to a study in European Urology on metformin’s potential benefits for prostate cancer patients. “THE FORUM’S UNIQUE “THINK TANK” ENVIRONMENT ENCOURAGED CROSS-DISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION, LEADING TO BREAK- THROUGH INSIGHTS—SUCH AS THE REALIZATION THAT NEUROENDOCRINE TUMORS IN LUNG AND PROSTATE CANCER SHARE SIMILARI- TIES, OPENING NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR TREATMENT, “SAID DR. ABATE-SHEN.
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