You Make a Difference!

When I was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma (uLMS) in January of 2002, the outlook for my survival was very grim. There was very little research on LMS. Now 19 years later, I can honestly say that we are so better off, thanks to the LMS patients and loved ones’ united efforts to find treatments that work.

How have we all helped to advance LMS research? Just look at what the patient community has funded with Leiomyosarcoma Support & Direct Research Foundation (LMSDR.) But we can’t stop until we have a cure! Help us raise funds for next year’s researchers. Please donate to Leiomyosarcoma Support & Direct Research Foundation.

$100.000 awarded to Dr. Sujana Movva (Sloan Kettering) for her study, “Identifying Biomarkers Predictive of Benefit to Rucaparib and Nivolumab in Patients with Advanced Leiomyosarcoma.” This study will analyze who responds the PARP inhibitor, Rucaparib.

$100.000 awarded to Dr. Joanna Przybyl (Stanford) for her 2-year project, “Metabolic Reprogramming in Leiomyosarcoma.” This study will identify drugs that will block sources of energy in cancer cells of three genetic subgroups of LMS.

$150,000 to SARC – Sarcoma Alliance for Research Collaboration, for their second year work on looking at new targets for LMS, including the role of TP53, pten, Rb1, p13K and mTOR.

$100,000 awarded to Dr. van de Rijn (Stanford) for his continued work to distinguish uLMS from benign fibroids by a blood test. “Using Circulating Tumor DNA as a Measure of Tumor Load and Response to Therapy.”

$100,000 to SARC – Sarcoma Alliance for Research Collaboration. A 2-year project looking at new targets for LMS, including the role of TP53, pten, p13K and mTOR.

$47,000 awarded to Mathew Hemming MD PhD (Dana Farber) for his second year study of, “Exploring Leiomyosarcoma Functional Genomics to Identify Disease Specific Vulnerabilities.”

$42,000 awarded to Mathew Hemming MD PhD (Dana Farber) A 2-year project, “Exploring Leiomyosarcoma Functional Genomics to Identify Disease Specific Vulnerabilities.”

$140,000 awarded to Dr. van de Rijn (Stanford) for his continued work to distinguish uLMS from benign fibroids by a blood test. “Using Circulating Tumor DNA as a Measure of Tumor Load and Response to Therapy.”

$74,000 awarded to Tatiana Omelchenko PhD (Sloan Kettering) for her study, “Identification of a Novel Treatment Strategy for Uterine Leiomyosarcoma in Genotype Defined Patient Population.” She will generate a genetically engineered mouse model based on genetic alterations found in uLMS patients and to model tumor growth inhibition. The $74,000 grant for this project was gifted by the Kelly Kimball family.

$10,000 sponsorship given to Kyle Floyd for his documentary, “Kicking the Hornets Nest.” This two-hour movie documents the history of uterine morcellation and the consequences for women with leiomyosarcoma.

$2,000 awarded to Gregory Cote MD, PhD at Massachusetts General Hospital for his project, ART Inhibition in ALT Positive Leiomyosarcoma and Osteosarcoma. Funded by the Lissy McMahon Memorial fund.

$40,000 awarded to Dr. Matt van de Rijn for his project titled: ROR2 and a Potential Target in Leiomyosarcoma.

$90,000 awarded to Dr. Matt van de Rijn (Stanford) for his continued work to distinguish uLMS from benign fibroids by a blood test. “Using Circulating Tumor DNA as a Measure of Tumor Load and Response to Therapy.”

$125,000 awarded to the international collaborative of Drs. Fletcher (Dana Farber), van de Rijn (Stanford), Chibon (France’s Bergonie Institute), Bauer (West German Cancer Center) and Langenau (Massachusetts General Hospital.) Their study, “Maximizing Therapeutic Response in Leiomyosarcoma” was co-funded collaboratively with the Liddy Shriver Foundation and National Leiomyosarcoma Foundation. In this project they will sequence the genome of LMS tumors, investigate the P13K-AKT-mTor pathway, and test therapies with new cell lines, mice and zebra fish.

$110,000 awarded to Dr. Matt van de Rijn (Stanford) for his continued work to distinguish uLMS from benign fibroids by a blood test. “Using Circulating Tumor DNA as a Measure of Tumor Load and Response to Therapy.”

$110,000 awarded to Dr. Matt van de Rijn (Stanford) for his continued work to distinguish uLMS from benign fibroids by a blood test. “Using Circulating Tumor DNA as a Measure of Tumor Load and Response to Therapy.” In addition, he also plans to study:

• Clinically Relevant Molecular Subtypes in Leiomyosarcoma
• A Role for Versican in the Development of Leiomyosarcoma
• Progressive Loss of Myogenic Differentiation in Leiomyosarcoma Has Prognostic Value

$50,000 awarded along with $100,000 from the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative to Dr. Matt van de Rijn (Stanford) for several LMS projects:

• The Study of Three Therapeutic Targets in Leiomyosarcoma
• Engineered SIRPa Variants as Immunotherapeutic Adjuvants to Anticancer Antibodies.
• Comparative Gene Expression Profiling of Benign and Malignant Lesions Reveals Candidate Therapeutic Compounds for Leiomyosarcoma

$50,000 awarded jointly by LMSDR and the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative to Dr. Matt van de Rijn (Stanford) for several LMS projects:

• ROR2 is a Novel Prognostic Biomarker and a Potential Therapeutic Target in Leiomyosarcoma.
• The Effect of Mir-17-92 Dysregulation in Leiomyosarcoma-Genesis.
• Antibody Therapy Targeting the CD47 Protein is Effective in a Model of Aggressive Metastatic Leiomyosarcoma
• Flipping the Script on Macrophages in Leiomyosarcoma
• CFS1 Expression in Nongynological Leiomyosarcoma is Associated with Increased Tumor Angiogenesis

$25,000 awarded to Dr. Sandra Orsulic (Cedars Sinai) for her second year study, “A Role for BRCA1 in Uterine Leiomyosarcoma.”

$50,000 awarded to Dr. van de Rijn (Stanford) for his ongoing investigations, “Prognostic Significance of Macrophage Infiltration in Leiomyosarcomas.”

$25,000 awarded to Dr. Sandra Orsulic (Cedars Sinai) for her 2-year study, “A Role for BRCA1 in Uterine Leiomyosarcoma.”

$50,000 awarded to Drs. van de Rijn (Stanford), Fletcher (Dana Farber) and Coreless of (Washington State University) for a collaborative research project, “Discovery of Molecular Subtypes in Leiomyosarcoma through Integrated Molecular Profiling.”

$25,000 awarded to Dr. Eva Hernando (New York University School of Medicine) for her study, “Let-7 repression leads to HMGA2 overexpression in uterine leiomyosarcoma.”

$40,000 awarded to Dr. van de Rijn (Stanford) to perform a microarray analysis of LMS from the paraffin tumor blocks donated by LMS patients worldwide to the LMS Tissue Bank at Stanford. Most of the above studies used these paraffin blocks.