Program Leader: Charles V. Clevenger, MD, PhD
Program Co-Leader: Seema Khan, MD

The Breast Cancer Program (BC) of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center embraces a multidisciplinary approach to integrate its basic, translational, and clinical components. The program seeks to identify the molecular markers for and the mechanisms that contribute to breast cancer progression, to develop new antagonists to these processes, and to translate these agents from pre-clinical models to the bedside. This vision is being accomplished under the leadership of Drs. Charles Clevenger and Seema Khan, noted breast cancer researchers with complementary skills and expertise. Specific areas of research focus that have been complemented by several recent faculty recruits include biomarkers, early detection, hormone-based signal transduction and transcription, and mouse models of breast cancer. Over the past five years the program has markedly increased its translational research activity and initiated several interactive clinical trials. These trials have spanned a diverse range of topics, including novel diagnostic and imaging techniques, innovative preventive and therapeutic interventions, and supportive care assessments. This research is conducted in the labs of 25 faculty from 11 departments within the Feinberg School of Medicine. Total current cancer-relevant peer-reviewed funding is $4,212,569 (direct) with 2,590,704 (direct) from NCI and $1,621,865 (direct) from other peer-reviewed sources. Between January 2001 and September 2006 there have been 301 publications from the current program members. Sixty-five (22%) of these publications represent intra-programmatic collaborations and 83 (28%) represent inter-programmatic collaborations. This research has been recently facilitated by the move of several program members onto the fourth floor of the recently completed Robert H. Lurie Biomedical Research building, which is dedicated to breast cancer and women's health research. Further growth of the program will occur within the upcoming year with the opening of an entire floor dedicated to breast cancer therapy in the new Prentice Women's Hospital of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Previous Page