Patricia A. Ganz, MD

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 they are working on ways to address these problems in the clinic. The research Dr. Ganz and her colleagues are conducting with BCRF support focuses on learning about the risks for memory, concentrating and thinking problems after breast cancer treatments. They are studying the biological and psychological risk factors for these problems. In their new project, they plan to develop a group intervention program for women who have these complaints and evaluate whether they can make a difference in how they are functioning.

Mid-year Progress Report:
With the help of BCRF funding Dr. Ganz's team has established a comprehensive clinical program for breast cancer survivors in the Los Angeles region that provides state-of-the-art clinical care woven together with cutting edge research. In addition, they are using the BCRF funds to supplement a large federal 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 have used the BCRF funds to continue ongoing follow-up beyond the first year on study in order to examine the long-term outcomes in these women that may be associated with their psychosocial, medical, genetic and hormonal data that have been collected during their first year on study. The researchers are trying to understand why some women may be predisposed to more serious long-term effects from their cancer treatment.

Added to their current research program is a pilot intervention study designed to improve cognitive function in women complaining of post-treatment difficulties with memory, concentration, and multi-tasking that interferes with everyday activities. Borrowing from strategies that have been used in individualized memory training programs in older adults, Dr. Ganz’s team has designed a 6-week group intervention, especially for breast cancer survivors. They plan to launch our first group of the intervention program (4-6 participants) in March 2009 and will refine the intervention after working with the women. Subsequent groups will be launched with a plan to test this in about 24 women total. Although as yet the researchers don’t fully understand who is at-risk for cognitive complaints, and how this occurs, there is a critical need to develop effective interventions to provide remediation for this troublesome treatment complication.

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 Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Jill Rose Award and the Susan G. Komen Professor of Survivorship.