PanMass Challenge (PMC)

The PanMass Challenge is the nation’s original fundraising bike-a-thon and raises more money than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country.  SIGN UP is closing soon for the AUGUST 2012 RIDE!!!!

We are so proud to be a part of the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC).  In August 2011, sixty-one members of TeamBrent (our cycling arm is known as TeamBrentWheels) biked across Massachusetts in the 32nd annual PMC, alongside 5,000 other cyclists, with thousands of supporters along the route cheering. We always enjoy seeing kids on the side of the road holding signs saying, “I am 11 now because of you. Thank you PMC riders,” and “My heart beats because of your feet.”  We love seeing the people who line the streets, with families and friends, playing music, banging on pots, handing out water bottles, and spraying riders with hoses.  We love riding by “Da Hedge” and feeling the love from the campers (who join together, screaming for hours, to form a human hedge).  Their “Thank You” signs really make you understand that what we do makes a difference.

Then there are the people who stand alone, sometimes with nobody else in sight, just clapping.  The PMC draws people out, even to stand alone at the side of the road, and that says volumes about how meaningful this event is.  These are the true heroes who make the biking feel easy.

The collective goal is to raise millions of dollars for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). The money is donated through the Institute’s Jimmy Fund for lifesaving cancer research and care. TeamBrentWheels has had a blast riding these past seven years, and we have also contributed almost $2.6 million to fight Neuroblastoma cancer at the Dana Farber.  It is such a fun time: the PMC has a 75 percent rider retention rate, with cyclists coming from 37 states and 8 countries. Nearly 300 riders are cancer survivors or current patients. Some PMC cyclists are weekend warriors; others are trained triathletes (this holds true of TeamBrentWheels as well).  We cannot wait for August 2012 and our eighth ride!

The PMC is a model of fundraising efficiency: it donates 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to the cause; generates 60% of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue; and is Dana-Farber’s single largest contributor. There are so many incredibly worthy causes out there, and every dollar donated represents a choice. First, to donate that dollar to charity, and second, to donate it towards the fight against childhood cancer (vs. another worthy fight).  For that we are grateful that we can be assured that every cent of these hard earned dollars goes to the right place. The PMC has raised $338 million for lifesaving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund.

While overall PMC funds fight cancer in general at the Dana Farber, we have partnered with Dr. Lisa Diller, Clinical Director of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber/Children’s Hospital; Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, to specifically fight Neuroblastoma, a cancer that affects children.

What have we accomplished?

• We have built a strong clinical infrastructure for our Neuroblastoma program. We have hired two amazing, very experienced research nurses. One works primarily on the inpatient service and dedicates 50% of her time to Neuroblastoma working on antibody therapy and MIBG. The other is based in the Jimmy Fund Clinic and works on outpatient novel therapies for Neuroblastoma and other solid tumors. We also have hired a clinical research coordinator dedicated to Neuroblastoma.
• We have helped fund a new treatment room at Boston Children’s Hospital, allowing for MIBG radiotherapy for children with relapsed Neuroblastoma. We have done 30 MIBG treatments since opening the room.  We have confirmation that we will join a group of national investigators to use MIBG therapy in newly diagnosed high-risk patients and are waiting for the amended protocol to be finalized so that we can submit to our institutional review board.
• We treated 15 high risk patients with antibody. We have recently received IRB approval for a protocol investigating a humanized anti-GD2 antibody in patients with relapsed neuroblastoma.
• We continue to work on targeting the ALK gene in the lab. We are testing new ALK inhibitor compounds and also      combination therapies to increase efficacy using a mouse Neuroblastoma model. We also have a clinical trial open looking at an ALK inhibitor in patients with a known ALK abnormality in their tumor.  We are also working on mechanisms that cause resistance to ALK inhibitors in patients with neuroblastoma. We are also working on an ALK-directed dendritic cell vaccine for use in patients with neuroblastoma.
• We are working on an agent that targets myc, an oncogene often involved in Neuroblastoma.
• Our researchers are able to use our Core Facilities to look for agents that alone, or in combination, target Neuroblastoma cells.   Because of your support our laboratory investigators make use of these important and “high-end” technologies, such as new compound screening and mouse imaging.
• We now have a personalized cancer medicine research program in place that will allow us to test a patient’s own tumor to identify the specific abnormalities that may be contributing to its growth and progression. We have succeeded in obtaining regulatory approval for a novel clinical protocol that will allow us to perform several tests on tumors from patients whose have relapsed or recurred and provide the results of those tests to their treating oncologist.

Thanks to strong fundraising by TeamBrent in 2011, we are planning to launch an additional clinical trial in which we can study GVAX & make a Neuroblastoma vaccine.  Tumor vaccines have great promise as a potential cancer treatment.  We have written a  protocol and are awaiting IRB approval to use discarded tumor specimens to perfect the techniques of preparing a tumor vaccine from neuroblastoma cells. This is an important step in developing the GVAX for neuroblastoma patients.

While we know that the immune system is important in controlling cancer, tumors can often escape the immune system.  Vaccines, like chicken pox, polio and mumps vaccines, prime the immune system to attack virally-infected cells.  In cancer, tumor vaccines follow the same principle: specialized tumor cells are injected to prime the immune system against the tumor.

• GVAX is a tumor vaccine that is made by taking a patient’s own tumor cells and engineering them to secrete a molecule that stimulates the immune system, called GM-CSF.  The idea of this vaccine is that GM-CSF attracts immune cells to the site where irradiated tumor-cells were injected and stimulates them, so that they learn to recognize and attack tumor cells elsewhere in the body.  Clinical trials have used this approach in adult patients with diverse cancers, including metastatic melanoma. These trials consistently showed that the vaccine manages to attract immune cells to the site of vaccine injection and in approximately two-thirds of patients, biologically active immune cells were found in biopsies of tumor lesions distant from the vaccination. These trials also showed that the vaccine is safe and does not lead to significant toxicities.
• We know that Neuroblastoma is a tumor that is particularly susceptible to therapies involving the immune system, based on recent data showing that anti-GD2 antibody (an antibody which recognizes a molecule on the surface of Neuroblastoma cells) given in combination with GM-CSF and Interleukin-2 (another immune stimulator) improves outcome.

We are planning to launch a clinical trial in which we can study GVAX and make a Neuroblastoma tumor vaccine.  We hope this will be a well-tolerated and possibly very effective therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory Neuroblastoma.  If we see an effect, this is a potential new agent for further exploration for national implications.

This takes a team approach, from the lab to the clinic, and the team will be supported by TeamBrentWheels.   Many of us have had our lives impacted by friends and family diagnosed with cancer. It’s just not right. We have to fight. Brent is living proof that together we can make a difference – and for that we thank you.

PMC Heavy Hitter Keynote Speakers 2011

TeamBrent was absolutely honored to be chosen as keynote speakers at the 2011 PMC Heavy Hitter Dinner. The Heavy Hitter Dinner is a special event to thank the PMC’s largest fundraisers.  We really enjoyed the chance to share our story and to meet so many dedicated riders.

Read more about the event.

SIGN UP FOR THE AUGUST 4 & 5, 2012 RIDE IS JANUARY 10, 2012 FOR ALUMNI & JANUARY 17 FOR NEW RIDERS