No Stomach For Cancer’s Grant for Gastric Cancer Innovation, Education, and Opportunity funds diverse research and programs
No Stomach For Cancer (NSFC) is preparing to fund $232,000 in grants for stomach cancer research, education, and programs to improve patient outcomes. This is the largest grant total the organization has funded and coincides with their tenth anniversary.
Paul Mansfield, M.D., vice president of Acute Care Services; Brian Badgwell, M.D., associate professor of Surgical Oncology; and Naruhiko Ikoma, M.D., assistant professor of Surgical Oncology at MD Anderson will receive $89,000 to develop a surgical database, peritoneal program, palliative program, and support tool for stomach cancer patients. Their team has worked to improve outcomes for patients with gastric cancer at every stage and step along their pathway of care.
Dr. Parry Guilford at the University of Otago will receive $60,000 to research a process aimed at allowing the identification of one or more drugs that can be taken into human clinical trials as chemoprevention compound(s) for HDGC. Dr. Guilford discovered the CDH1 gene mutation, which increases a person’s risk for hereditary diffuse gastric cancer.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Foundation (NCCN) will receive $17,000 to translate the Patient Guidelines for Stomach Cancer into Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. The guides which NSFC has funded since they were first launched have become an invaluable global resource for helping gastric cancer patients navigate the journey from diagnosis to survivorship.
ClinGen will receive $41,000 to expand the ClinVar database of CDH1 gene mutation variants. The CDH1 gene mutation is known to cause hereditary diffuse gastric cancer syndrome and significantly increases your risk for hereditary diffuse gastric cancer. The FDA Approved, publicly available ClinVar database for CDH1 germline mutations is curated through the Genome Connect registry and in partnership with the Global Gastric Cancer Registry.
Dr. Alex Boussioutas at the University of Melbourne Australia will receive $25,000 to expand his research and development, investigating the role of SFRP4 in gastric cancer.
“Our ambition is to improve outcomes for stomach cancer patients worldwide and significantly decrease late-stage diagnosis. One of the key priorities of this organization is to support research efforts for screening, early detection, treatment and prevention of stomach cancer,” said Jon Florin, Executive Director. “This year’s grant cycle is our most diverse to date, and the grant recipients are representative of the best and brightest in the field of stomach cancer research.”
Stomach Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide and is most often diagnosed at stage four. “It is difficult to diagnose stomach cancer because many of the symptoms mimic everyday digestive issues,” said Jon Florin. “As Executive Director of the organization, one of my primary objectives has been to increase awareness and bring stomach cancer into the daily health and wellness conversation.”
Learn more about No Stomach For Cancer funded research on the No Stomach For Cancer website. To get involved, visit our Volunteer page, and connect with No Stomach For Cancer on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.