Dear ASPS community,
Last weekend August 3-4, 2024 Team ASPS rode for the 21st time the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC). I am asking you to sponsor our 85-mile bike ride and sponsor research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute that aims to bring more therapies for ASPS.
Twenty-one years have passed since my middle daughter was diagnosed with Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS).
In 2005, following the second ride with Team ASPS, we were able to initiate the first-ever human ASPS clinical trial, the Cancer Vaccine clinical trial (GVAX), developed by Dr. Glenn Dranoff at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This sparked additional clinical trials including ARQ197, Cediranib, Anlotinib, Axitinib, and Pembrolizumab. December 2022 marked a major accomplishment for ASPS patients when TECENTRIQ (atezolizumab) was approved by the FDA as the first ASPS drug.
Your donation will help us continue collaborative research on ASPS at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and initiate a new human clinical trial for ASPS.
Our current research efforts at the Dana-Farber and the University of Massachusetts Memorial Children’s Medical Center are conducted by Dr. Matthew Hemming, Dr. Ewa Sicinska, and Dr. Andrew Wagner. This year, we continue to conduct a genetic CRISPR screen using ASPS cell lines to learn about the biology of ASPS and identify specific ASPS targets for therapy.
In July 2024, Dr. Hemming and Dr. Sicinska published a scientific manuscript describing their recent preclinical studies on ASPS in the journal Cancer Research.
On the same month, July 2024, iCureASPS initiated a collaboration with the Rare Cancer Research Foundation aiming to develop ASPS cancer cell lines needed for preclinical research.
About twenty years ago with the help from the ASPS community we founded “Cure Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma International”. The organization aims to bring together ASPS patients, families, and friends from all over the world with a shared interest in finding a cure. An interactive forum on the website enables ASPS patients to find information, share their experiences, and receive group support from the ASPS community. Through this forum, patients around the world can make better decisions regarding their ASPS treatments.
There are two convenient ways to donate:
Online donations through my PMC rider page: https://profile.pmc.org/YL0002
Once you are on my page, click on the right side: “DONATE TO MY RIDE,” or on the left side: “DONATE BY VENMO.”
Check donations can be made payable to “PMC-Team ASPS YL0002” and mailed to:
Yosef Landesman
260 Tappan St
Brookline, MA 02445
Your donation is fully tax-deductible. The PMC tax ID is: 04-2746912
Thank you for your support!
Best Wishes,
Yossi
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Yosef Landesman, Ph.D.
President & Cancer Research Director
Cure Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma International (iCureASPS)