New Hereditary Factors, Imaging Techniques Sought By Local Researchers Being Funded By Susan G. Komen For The Cure(R)

Researchers at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will be looking at ways to identify breast cancer genes before cancer develops - or find the cancers earlier once they do - in a pair of research projects funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the global leader in the breast cancer movement.


The two Komen for the Cure grants are part of a $60 million portfolio of research grants that Komen will be investing with scientists worldwide to find the cures for breast cancer. A third study being funded at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research looks at ways to keep tumors from returning.


"Breast cancer doesn't care about the economy, and with more than 1.3 million new cases of breast cancer expected this year, the need for new research is more urgent than ever," said Hala Moddelmog, Komen's CEO and president.


In Southern California, Komen will award nearly $600,000 to UCLA for research aimed at uncovering genetic mutations other than BRCA1/BRCA2 that indicate a risk for breast cancer. A second study focuses on the development of new breast cancer imaging technology that could detect breast cancer tumors as they are forming. Komen also is investing $180,000 at Burnham Institute for Medical Research in Santa Barbara toward the study of tumor resistance.


"Komen's infusion of millions of dollars into research projects means that promising research that is designed to treat and ultimately eradicate breast cancer will continue," said Eric Winer, M.D., Komen's chief scientific advisor.


In 2009, the Los Angeles County Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® will grant critical funds to 32 screening, diagnostic and treatment providers from Antelope Valley to Long Beach. More details can be found at, komenlacounty


During the past 27 years, Komen has invested $400 million to fund research globally, starting with Komen's first grant in 1982 for $28,000. A decade later, the annual total had grown to 21 grants worth $590,000 and 10 years after that, Komen distributed $21 million in research funds. This year, Komen is providing researchers worldwide with $60 million. In the last three years alone, Komen has invested nearly $237 million for breast cancer research.


In 2008, Komen created Promise Grants - a new category of multi-year, multi-million dollar grants designed to discover and deliver cures for breast cancer more quickly.


Here is a list of local institutions, the researchers and the projects Komen is funding this year, pending agreements:


University of California at Los Angeles

*Shehnaz Hussain, $299,912, Nucleotide variation in the prolactin receptor and its agonists and breast cancer risk


Cedars Sinai Medical Center

*V Krishnan Ramanujan, $299,919, Preclinical Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging System for early detection of breast tumors in vivo


Burnham Institute for Medical Research

*Charles Perou, $180,000, targeting therapy-resistant tumor vessels and preventing tumor recurrence


About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®


Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested more than $1.3 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit komen or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.

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Susan G. Komen for the Cure