Angeles Secord, MD, MHSc and Duke Cancer Institute have been awarded a $1 million grant funded by the 2019 Kay Yow Cancer Fund/The V Foundation for Cancer Research to support the project, “Endometrial Cancer Molecularly Targeted Therapy Consortium.” The award will be paid in annual installments of $250,000 over the four-year grant period. The award was made in honor of NBA All-star Kevin Durant's loved one, who lost a battle with cancer. This grant will support research in the area of women's cancers.
The summary of the project on which Dr. Secord will work is as follows:
Cancer involving the lining of the uterus is known as endometrial cancer. Endometrial cancer is a common female cancer with about 61,880 new cases per year. When this cancer has spread beyond the uterus, most women will die of their disease. Endometrial cancer deaths have been increasing each year since 2006. We need better and more treatments for this disease. There are tests to identify abnormal genes and proteins on the cancer cells. More research is needed to see if these abnormal genes and proteins can be used to make treatment decisions. We believe that survival for women with endometrial cancer that has spread outside of the uterus will be improved by using the abnormal tumor genes and proteins to find treatments that will work better. Our goal is to look more closely at these abnormal genes and proteins in cancer cells and determine if this new way to make treatment decisions and find better treatments will help women live longer. We also plan to find new drugs to treat this disease. We will bring together a group of medical centers, experts who treat women with this disease, patients, and patient advocates to help guide our study.