Patricia A. Ganz, MD

2007-2008 BCRF Project:
There are over two million breast cancer survivors in the US today. Along with extended survival, many women experience short and long-term effects of treatment, which may decrease their quality of life and contribute to other health problems. Dr. Ganz's research group has been at the forefront of studying these effects of treatment (e.g., early menopause, fatigue, cognitive problems) and her team is working on ways to address these problems in the clinic.

With prior support from BCRF, the researchers able to conduct pilot studies examining whether or not women with breast cancer exposed to chemotherapy and endocrine therapy experienced difficulty with memory and concentration. Their preliminary data suggested some changes in these areas and supported the funding of a large grant from the National Cancer Institute to study 260 women in the year just after treatment. Budgetary cuts for this grant threaten their ability to do the proposed study as planned, and BCRF funds will compensate for the federal cuts, as well as to permit longer term follow-up of the women beyond one year.

In addition, with the help of BCRF funding, Dr. Ganz and her team have established a comprehensive clinical program for breast cancer survivors in the Los Angeles region that provides state-or-the-art clinical care woven together with cutting-edge research. Advances from their research are provided to breast cancer survivors, and they in turn have an opportunity to participate in new research investigations. This is a clinical/translational research program focused on breast cancer survivors, whose findings can ultimately be disseminated widely to survivors everywhere.

Mid-Year Progress Report:
With the help of BCRF funding, Dr. Ganz and her team have established a comprehensive clinical program for breast cancer survivors in the Los Angeles region that provides state-or-the-art clinical care woven together with cutting edge research. BCRF support is assisting with this program. In addition, the researchers are using the BCRF funds to supplement a large grant that is examining the impact of adjuvant endocrine therapy on thinking and memory in breast cancer patients during the year after primary treatment. They will also use these funds to expand follow-up of these patients beyond the one year covered by the NCI grant so that the clinical and laboratory assessments they are doing in this first year may be linked to long-term outcomes.

In addition, collaborative research with a molecular biologist in the Ganz group has led to exciting new gene expression data patterns that may help them to understand why some women develop symptoms or arthritis on aromatase inhibitors, and how we might more effectively treat this symptom in the future. BCRF funding has allowed the researchers at UCLA to explore the underlying biological mechanisms for some of the late effects of breast cancer treatments, and to aid in understanding who might be at risk for these problems.

Bio: Dr. Patricia A. Ganz is a medical oncologist who has spent the past 20 years doing systematic research on the health-related quality of life impact of cancer and its treatment. She currently holds an American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professorship, and is Professor in the UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health. She serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. She has also been actively involved in measurement of quality of life endpoints in clinical trials, with leadership roles in the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP).

Through her research she has contributed to our understanding of how women adjust to the diagnosis of breast cancer, including its effects on their physical, emotional, social, and sexual well-being. She has completed several studies that have examined quality of life in breast cancer survivors, and is completing a study funded by the National Cancer Institute that evaluates an intervention for breast cancer patients who have completed their treatments and are "Preparing for Survivorship." Dr. Ganz is a founding member of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), and was previously awarded the Susan G. Komen Professor of Survivorship.