Daughters Raise Ovarian Cancer Research Funds in Mother's Name

"If you feel passionately about something, do your best to make it happen," was a mother's advice that three sisters took to heart.

Thanks to that determination, ovarian cancer research at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is getting a boost of philanthropic funding. The Lynne Cohen Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research, in partnership with Atairgin Technologies Inc., presented a gift of $100,000 to the ovarian cancer research program at M. D. Anderson.

"Private philanthropy is vital to expanding our knowledge about the ovarian cancer problem," explains Dr. Gordon Mills, professor and chairman of the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at M. D. Anderson and a member of Atairgin's clinical advisory team and board of directors.

"Receiving this generosity from such a devoted, heart-felt effort makes the contribution that much more meaningful and appreciated," Dr. Mills says. "This gift is a humble reminder that our work is not just science but a commitment to saving other mothers, other families."

Lynne Cohen, a vibrant, art-leasing gallery owner, passed away at age 53 as a result of ovarian cancer in 1998. Since then, her daughters have dedicated themselves to learning about the intricacies of effectively detecting and treating the disease that will be diagnosed in more than 23,000 women this year.

In less than two years, the Cohen Foundation has raised more than $1.2 million. This is its inaugural gift to M. D. Anderson. The gift will fund work by Dr. Xianjun Fang, assistant professor of molecular therapeutics and Dr. Mills, who are studying lysophosphatidic acid, a small lipid. They have shown LPA as a potential diagnostic marker for ovarian cancer as well as a player in the development and spread of ovarian cancer.

Partnering with Northwestern University Medical School, Drs. Mills and Fang will utilize funding to identify nontoxic drugs that target LPA and its G protein-coupled receptors, and determine which GPCR regulates the ability of ovarian cancer cells to invade and metastasize.

"This project, like all that we choose to fund, elucidates the extraordinary commitment of our foundation to support research which will increase survival and improve the quality of life for women with ovarian cancer," explains Amy Cohen, president of the foundation, based in Santa Monica, Calif.

The Cohen Foundation recently received the prestigious Reader's Digest Health Heroes Award. In October 2000, the foundation opened the Lynne Cohen Cancer Screening & Prevention Project at New York University Medical Center. Last month, it opened The Lynne Cohen High Risk Clinic for Women's Cancers at the University of Southern California/Norris Cancer Center in Los Angeles.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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