Guest blogger Nike Beddow is co-founder of the Race for Hope DC and Vice President of Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure.Nike leads ABC²’s special events and communications program. She joined ABC² to increase the impact of its anti-cancer initiatives by developing events like the Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers Race for Hope 5k – Run/Walk to Benefit Brain Tumor Research.
On Sunday, May 2nd our nation’s capital will host the largest brain tumor community event in the country - the 13th Annual Race for Hope 5k, Presented by Cassidy Turley. Over 10,000 runners, walkers, brain tumor patients, survivors, families and friends will come together to raise awareness and over $2 million in funds for brain cancer research and support services, to benefit Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure and the National Brain Tumor Society. American Idol® winner David Cook and his adoring fans will also return to lend their support and celebrity buzz.
The Race is a remarkable success story on most every level. Founded in 1998 by a group of passionate, dedicated volunteers, the Race has grown in attendance, teams, and dollars raised every single year. Not even 9/11 or the economic meltdown of 2008 could slow it down. Yet, the day the Race goes out of business is the day we measure its true success – because that’s when brain cancer is cured.
Brain cancer is swift and nearly always fatal. More than 25,000 Americans are diagnosed with a malignant glioma every year. A majority of these cancers occur as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) – the most aggressive form of brain cancer. Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy succumbed to a GBM in August of 2009, 15 months after he was diagnosed. The progress for developing treatments for brain cancer has been slow. Only three new drugs have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the last 35 years.
An aggressive disease like brain cancer requires an aggressive approach to its cure – and that’s why the pioneering work of Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure is so critical. ABC2 is a non-profit organization with a for-profit mindset. Many of the greatest advances in science and medicine have been driven by an “entrepreneurial” spirit, and ABC2 believes that a sense of entrepreneurism can continue to be a powerful force in advancing brain cancer research.
Investments in Industry
ABC2 recognizes the importance of investing in the early stages of the most novel sectors of the discovery and development pipeline, in order to “buy down the risk” for our partners and speed progress of innovative new treatments to the clinic.
ABC2 collaborations with Genentech resulted in the May 2009 approval of the drug Avastin for the treatment of GMB patients. With its venture-based model, ABC2 encouraged Genentech to test the efficacy of Avastin in a short time frame. Avastin has proven to be one of the most promising and effective brain cancer drugs available to patients.
More recently, ABC2 invested in Agios Pharmaceutical’s to explore the discovery and development of novel therapeutics in the emerging field of cancer metabolism – specifically investigating the IDHI gene mutations in brain cancer.
Genomics Breakthroughs
The National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is a comprehensive and coordinated effort to accelerate our understanding of the genetics of cancer. ABC2 played a key role in convincing NCI to study GBM as the first cancer to be analyzed for TCGA. Working with our network of researchers, this data is allowing us to better understand the genetic underpinnings of brain tumors and more effectively target personalized therapies.
Novel Approaches
Brain Cancer Stem Cells – ABC2 is collaborating with research visionaries like Drs. Greg Foltz at Swedish Medical Center, and Dennis Steindler at University of Florida in the areas of discovery and characterization of a tiny population of tumor regenerating stem cells within brain tumors.
Cancer Viruses - Viruses have been implicated in a number of cancers including cervical, liver and certain lymphomas and leukemias and sarcomas. NCI believes that viruses will prove to be key drivers in a number of cancers. ABC2 is funding the research of Dr. Charles Cobb at California Pacific Medical Center who is looking at the role of the Cytomeglovirus (CMV) in brain cancer.
Biomedical Informatics
ABC2 recognizes the powerful role of informatics in the discovery of a brain cancer cure. It supports NCI’s Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBig) and furthers the development for brain cancer specific initiatives. In 2009, ABC2 funded the work of Drs. Nat Goodman and Leroy Hood at Seattle’s Institute for Systems Biology to develop a GDxBase informatics system, web portal and accompanying software tools to assess relationships between various ongoing and historical brain cancer research programs.
We haven’t crossed the finish line yet in our race to find a cure, but revolutionary advances in genetics, robotics, information technology and nanotechnology give hope that brain cancer can be conquered in our lifetime. Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC2), with its far forward approach, is uniquely poised to take advantage of these scientific breakthroughs.
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