User:Draco 82/Tower cancer research foundation

Tower Cancer Research Foundation (TCRF), formed in 1996, is located on the Westside of Los Angeles in Beverly Hills. TCRF is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to clinical research, patient support and community education.

Focused mainly on performing clinical trials for the development of new and more effective treatments of cancer and blood disorders, Tower Cancer Research Foundation has conducted over 400 clinical trials since its inception in 1996. TCRF also funds scientific laboratory research annually to physicians doing cutting edge bench-to-bedside that will ultimately lead to further advances in cancer treatment.

Tower Cancer Research Foundation's clinical research studies are performed in conjunction with major research institutions such as Dana Farber Medical Center at Harvard, Johns Hopkins Hospital, The National Cancer Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, City of Hope, and the Translational Genomics Institute (T-Gen).

In addition to its clinical research program, TCRF provides patient support services and programs that include: patient mentoring, a breast cancer support group, free educational workshops on topics such as acupressure and nutrition, and support for caregivers. They also operate Ronnie Lippin Cancer Information and Resource Line, a free referral helpline that services the Los Angeles community, providing direct for psychosocial issues brought on by a cancer diagnosis.

With its clinical research program and patient support services, TCRF contributes to the public cancer education by producing newsletters geared to the lay public, physicians and oncologists.

Tower Cancer Research Foundation also provides treatment for genetic disorders such as Gaucher disease and Pompe disease and have the largest Gaucher program west of the Mississippi and the second largest center in the United States, The Comprehensive Gaucher Treatment Center. TCRF's research with Pompe Disease was published in the April 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine on A Randomized Study of Alglucosidase Alfa in Late-Onset Pompe's Disease

Clinical Trial Research - The Frank E. Rosenfelt Drug Development Program
Tower Cancer Research Foundation's main mission is clinical trial research. Their research program, The Frank E. Rosenfelt Drug Development Program, is titled after an entertainment attorney, who first at RKO, and later become MGM general counsel and eventually president and CEO in 1972. He developed close friendships with a large number of important individuals in the entertainment industry and as a result of this network and the Rosenfelt family’s deep commitment to cancer research, significant philanthropic contributions were made to TCRF to establish and continue its work.

Clinical trials are research studies in which people help doctors find ways to improve health and cancer care. Each study tries to answer scientific questions and to find better ways to prevent, diagnose, or treat cancer. All the “miracle drugs” of the last decade (such as Gleevec®, Rituxan®, and Herceptin®) have gone through the clinical trial process.

Clinical Trial Phases
Phase I trials: These first studies in people evaluate how a new drug should be given (by mouth, injected into the blood, or injected into the muscle), how often, and what dose is safe. A phase I trial usually enrolls only a small number of patients, sometimes as few as a dozen.

Phase II trials: A phase II trial continues to test the safety of the drug, and begins to evaluate how well the new drug works. Phase II studies usually focus on a particular type of cancer.

Phase III trials: These studies test a new drug, a new combination of drugs, or a new surgical procedure in comparison to the current standard. A participant will usually be assigned to the standard group or the new group at random (called randomization). Phase III trials often enroll large numbers of people and may be conducted at many doctors' offices, clinics, and cancer centers nationwide

In addition, after a treatment has been approved and is being marketed, the drug's maker may study it further in a phase IV trial. The purpose of phase IV trials is to evaluate the side effects, risks, and benefits of a drug over a longer period of time and in a larger number of people than in phase III clinical trials. Thousands of people are involved in a phase IV trial.

Fellowship Grant Awards
In 2004, Tower Cancer Research Foundation started its Fellowship Grant Award Program to fund basic science research in the fields of Hematology and Oncology. In 2010, TCRF awarded four Fellowship Grants of $50,000 each to scientists at UCLA and UCSD for their work in ovarian cancer, heptocellular carcinoma, and leukemia. In 2009, they granted three Fellowship awards of $25,000 - $50,000 each to scientists at City of Hope, UCLA and UCSD for their work in Lymphoma and Leukemia. In prior years, TCRF supported studies in prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, genetic research in mantle cell lymphoma, and lung cancer. Two grants have been awarded in memory of Ronnie Lippin, a talented music and public relations executive who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2006, through the Ronnie Lippin Cancer Outreach Program at TCRF. These are key grants that support clinician scientists early in their research careers and augment government funding that has become extremely limited.

Fundraising
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