By Glendon Zinser

Susan G. Komen was founded on a sister’s promise to create a world free of breast cancer. Komen’s commitment to fulfilling that dream is evident in Komen being the largest nonprofit funder of breast cancer medical research.

Puget Sound is notable for its prominence in medical research resources, and Komen is proud to have invested into this region more than $8.6 million since 1982. Today, we are excited to share news of $600,000 in new funding allocated to research being conducted in the Puget Sound area.

This funding will investigate inherited breast cancer, novel therapies and disease recurrence. This funding will investigate metastasis, disease susceptibility in different racial populations, and new markers associated with inherited breast cancer.  The Grant awards include:

• $200,000 for continued funding to Komen Scholar Julie Gralow, M.D., of the University of Washington to explore whether there are features found on breast cancer cells at the time of diagnosis that may make the cancer cells more likely to spread to the bone or other sites.

• $200,000 for continued funding to Komen Scholar Benjamin Anderson, M.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to continue his professional work in addressing breast cancer disparities throughout the globe.

• $200,000 for continued funding to Komen Scholar Mary-Claire King, Ph.D., of the University of Washington to screen for mutations in the non-coding regions of breast cancer genes that may regulate when and where those genes get activated, potentially identifying novel mutations and new mechanisms for inherited breast cancer.

King is known for her discovery of the BRCA1 gene more than 20 years ago. Studies have shown that mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 combined with other known genetic risk mutations account for about one third of hereditary breast cancers.

The last 32 years have brought about astounding changes in the way people look at, talk about, diagnose and treat breast cancer. The more than three million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today are proof of how far medical research has taken us in both early detection and improved treatments. But that work is not done until we have ended breast cancer forever, for ourselves, our children and future generations. With your support, one day we will make that promise a reality.

Glendon Zinser, Ph.D., is Komen scientific grants manager.