Jesse Boehm, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Break Through Cancer

Experts share challenges and opportunities for treating rare cancers.

In honor of Rare Disease Day, the Trends in Cancer journal published “Think zebras: challenges and opportunities for treating rare cancers,” a series of new interviews with experts in the field of rare cancer research.

ARC Board Member Jesse S. Boehm, PhD emphasizes that rare cancer patients have been left behind in the fight against cancer and this is unacceptable. When asked why does this disparity exist? Dr. Boehm replied, “Shockingly, it’s not a scientific barrier–it’s a systems challenge. The geographical dispersion and relative scarcity of patients, resources, and researchers at any one institution leads to a lack of clarity about cellular targets to hit when developing therapies. And a mismatch between the level of investment needed and the scale of the challenge is clear.” 

“The Alliance for Rare Cancers (ARC),” Dr. Boehm explained, “has galvanized an unprecedented coalition of stakeholders to capitalize on these opportunities and work collaboratively to implement a coordinated national rare cancer plan for the USA and beyond.” Dr. Boehm believes the confluence of new technologies, such as organoid culture, genome engineering and machine learning, patient-partnered platforms for data and living tissue donation, and social media-driven patient communities will enable any researcher to hunt for rare cancer drug targets. 

Case Comprehensive Cancer Center recognized by the National Cancer Institute 

Congratulations to our partner Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (Case CCC), recognized by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with a merit award of outstanding 19 months after transitioning to a new director Dr. Gary Schwartz, who is also Chair of our foundation’s Medical Advisory Board. Case Western Reserve University President Eric W. Kaler stated,“We are grateful for the steady and strong leadership of the Center’s director Dr. Gary Schwartz, and his commitment to producing high-quality research and programming that builds upon Case CCC’s national reputation for excellence.” He added, “The collaborative efforts of our partnering institutions at Case CCC have led to improved outcomes for people whose lives are affected by cancer—around the country and, importantly, right here in Northeast Ohio.” 

Rare Cancer Breaking News

We thought you’d be interested in two important articles published recently: this Newsweek story about the power of genetic sequencing in cancer treatment provides an overview of the promise of precision oncology—an approach that identifies and targets the gene mutations that drive each person's cancer.

This Cleveland.com article underscores the severity of a proposed policy change recently announced by the National Institutes of Health that would cut its funding for “indirect costs” tied to biomedical research. For Northeast Ohio’s research institutions alone, the result of Trump’s plan would be a reduction of billions of dollars. A federal judge, however, has ordered the Trump administration to hold off on a plan that would cut billions in federal funding for research at the nation’s universities, cancer centers and hospitals.

Rare cancer research is already underfunded. Now, indiscriminate cuts are putting life saving research and potential therapies at risk. Your donations are more important than ever to sustaining research that can bring hope to rare cancer patients and their families.