Pitt Cancer Institute Announces New Research Program

The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute today announced a multimillion-dollar research program to study two genes that, when mutated, dramatically increase the risk of breast, prostate, ovarian and pancreatic cancers.

The Frieda G. and Saul F. Shapira BRCA Cancer Research Program will research the BRCA 1 and 2 genes. Women who possess mutations in either gene have a 50 to 80 percent risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetimes.

“I am excited about the addition of this research program to UPCI,” Dr. Ronald Herberman, director of UPCI and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Cancer Centers, said in a news release. “The more we learn about these mutations, the better chance we have to target high-risk patients and to find innovative ways to reduce their cancer risk.”

The David S. and Karen A. Shapira Foundation committed an initial $1 million to the program as a match to raise $1.5 million from people and foundations. UPMC pledged to then match those gifts on a dollar-for-dollar basis, for an overall goal of $5 million total.

As many as one out of every 345 people in the United States carries a BRCA mutation, according to Pitt. People of Eastern European Jewish descent have up to a one in 40 risk. Both men and women can carry the genetic mutations, so it can be passed to children by either parent.

Anyone interested in contributing to this program or receiving more information should call (412) 623-4777. Click here to learn more about the research that this money will support.

Originally published by The Tribune-Review.

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