{"id":11199,"date":"2016-12-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cancerresearch.org\/media-room\/cancer-research-institute-and-fibrolamellar-cancer-foundation-announce-partnership-to-fund-cancer-immunotherapy-research-in-ultra-rare-liver-cancer\/"},"modified":"2022-07-13T04:21:24","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T04:21:24","slug":"cri-and-fibrolamellar-cancer-foundation-partner-up","status":"publish","type":"cri_news","link":"https:\/\/www.cancerresearch.org\/es\/media-room\/cri-and-fibrolamellar-cancer-foundation-partner-up","title":{"rendered":"Cancer Research Institute and Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation Announce Partnership to Fund Cancer Immunotherapy Research in Ultra-Rare Liver Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding cancer immunotherapy research for all types of cancer, and the Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation<\/a> (FCF), a nonprofit organization devoted to funding research in a rare but deadly form of liver cancer called fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FHC), today announced that they have partnered to provide $641,500 to four outstanding scientists whose research is focused on developing immunotherapies for patients with FHC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FHC is considered an \u201cultra-rare\u201d disease, affecting approximately 200-300 people per year worldwide, mostly teens and young adults. Additionally, there is a high unmet need in both ongoing research efforts and the development of effective treatments. To date, no formal studies of the effectiveness of immunotherapy in the treatment of FHC have been undertaken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cancer Research Institute\/Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation Fellowships and Grants are the first research awards designated to help understand the potential role for immunotherapy in treating patients with this type of liver cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the largest funder of fibrolamellar research, we are committed to exploring all appropriate research approaches to find a cure\u2013sooner than later,\u201d said John Hopper, executive director of the Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation. \u201cLeveraging CRI’s tremendous depth of experience in immunotherapy fills a need to explore this therapy approach for our patient community,\u201d Hopper added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cancer immunotherapy is a new approach to treating cancer that has been proven to benefit patients with a variety of cancer types, including melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, kidney cancer, head and neck cancer, and others. This treatment approach harnesses the immune system\u2019s natural ability to protect the body against cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough this funding, we seek to stimulate interest in this rare type of cancer and spur discoveries that may ultimately lead to lifesaving new immunotherapies for FHC patients,\u201d said<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jill O\u2019Donnell-Tormey, PhD, CEO and director of scientific affairs at the Cancer Research Institute. \u201cThe Cancer Research Institute\u2019s partnership with the Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation reinforces our commitment to leveraging our expertise in immunotherapy to benefit efforts in treating all types of cancer, particularly those that are rare and under-researched,\u201d O\u2019Donnell-Tormey added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2016, the Cancer Research Institute issued an open call for applications to fellowship candidates seeking to explore the potential role for immunotherapies in the treatment of FHC. Applications were reviewed by CRI\u2019s Postdoctoral Fellowship Review Committee, which twice annually vets highly competitive applications from young scientists working in top immunology and tumor immunology laboratories around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three recipients of the Cancer Research Institute\/Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation Fellowship are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n