Awardees & Updates – 2022

Biomarkers for BRCA1-Deficient Cancers
Kimi Kong, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

There is currently no biomarker available to identify deficiency of BRCA1 protein which is relevant to determining when this mutation will lead to breast and/or ovarian cancers. In addition, identifying these biomarkers will elucidate which patients will benefit most from new treatment specifically targeting these proteins. This study seeks to identify such biomarkers for new treatment targets, more effective outcomes, and earlier cancer detection.

Sex & Racial Differences in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Outcomes and Drug Tolerability: A Subgroup Analysis of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors Clinical Trials
Narjust Duma, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in American women. Despite how the pathology of lung cancer is similar in men and women, there are important differences that remain largely unexplained. EFGR mutations are more common in women yet this is the first study to examine sex differences in response and tolerability to EFGR inhibitors. These results will help create guidelines for more effective treatments.

Improving Diagnostic Techniques to Distinguish Uterine Sarcomas from Leiomyomas
Suzanne George, MD; Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Many uterine sarcomas are discovered when women undergo a hysterectomy for presumed leiomyomas (fibroids). This is because there is no reliable diagnostic technique to distinguish fibroids from this rare form of cancer. The optimal time to cure uterine sarcomas is at the initial surgery which at times differs from the approach for benign disease. This is why readily accessible pre-operative diagnostic techniques to distinguish benign leiomyoma from uterine sarcomas are needed. This study will build upon this team’s use of MRI imaging to make this distinction in order to change the standard approach to pre-operative assessment of women undergoing hysterectomy for presumed fibroids.

Assessing Antibody Response to SARS-CoV-2 & COVID-19 During Pregnancy in Women with IBD
Harland Winter, MD; Mass General Hospital, Harvard Medical School & Rachel Winter, MD, MPH; Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School

The durability of the immune response to either natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 or immunization during pregnancy is not well known in women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Assessing the level of protection throughout pregnancy in women with IBD who are on biologic therapies will provide new information to aid physicians in caring for high risk and other pregnant women in navigating immunizations during this ongoing pandemic.