Margaux Miracle Foundation http://www.margauxsmiracle.org Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:15:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Invitation http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/invitation-2 http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/invitation-2#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:04:52 +0000 admin http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/invitation-2 Purchase a ticket for $125 per person
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]]> http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/invitation-2/feed 0 Third Annual Greg Norman Golf Outing http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/third-annual-greg-norman-golf-outing http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/third-annual-greg-norman-golf-outing#comments Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:26:06 +0000 admin http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/?p=581 Third Annual Greg Norman Golf Outing

Friday, December 16, 2011.

Eight lucky golfers will be playing with Greg at the Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida.

Followed with dinner at Greg’s home.

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]]> http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/third-annual-greg-norman-golf-outing/feed 0 MMF’s Full time research fellow Heather Magnan, M.D. http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/mmfs-full-time-research-fellow-heather-magnan-md http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/mmfs-full-time-research-fellow-heather-magnan-md#comments Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:48:51 +0000 admin http://www.margauxsmiracle.org/?p=450 1166I am currently involved in several clinical research projects with the Pediatric Sarcoma Team as well as laboratory based projects in the molecular pathology laboratory of Dr Marc Ladanyi. A large portion of my work focuses on studying the biology of and signaling pathways involved in the translocation-associated sarcomas- of which Ewing Sarcoma is one.

I have been involved in the clinical trials of the monoclonal antibodies against the insulin-like growth-factor receptor (IGF-1R). We know that the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway is involved in the development and progression of sarcomas, and that the IGF-1R is a key regulator of these processes. IGF-1R is highly expressed in Ewing Sarcoma cells. Therefore an antibody against the IGF-1R could represent an exciting new target to attack in the struggle to treat recurrent and refractory Ewing Sarcoma.

A second translocation-associated sarcoma that I study is desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT). This tumor is quite rare and occurs most frequently in adolescent boys. It currently has a very poor prognosis and we are in need of new therapeutic approaches to fight this tumor. In the laboratory, I study genes that are highly expressed in this tumor and am attempting to identify specific genes and pathways that we could target with new drugs. In collaboration with the Genomic Core Facility at MSKCC we are also in the process of a high-throughput screen to identify chemicals that are specifically active at killing DSRCT cells. We hope that these two projects may lead us toward the discovery of drugs that will be more effective at combating DSRCT than the ones we currently use.

Along these lines, data from my labwork and that of one of my collaborators allowed me to develop a clinical trial that has recently opened at MSKCC. This trial adds two chemotherapeutic agents and a monoclonal antibody to the standard chemotherapy regimen used against DSRCT. We are excited by the results we saw in the animal model and hope that the same promising effects will be realized in our patients.

Lastly, I am working with an otolaryngologist to develop a clinical trial to reduce the risk of hearing damage associated with cisplatin in children with osteosarcoma. Cisplatin is a necessary drug in the treatment of osteosarcoma and unfortunately it carries with it a high risk of hearing damage. We will be investigating the potential of certain ear drops to prevent this ototoxicity.

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