Thomas Brown

City of Hope in the News

Stephen J. Forman, M.D., was quoted in a Jan. 29 New York Times article on stem cell banking services offered by private companies and any benefits from using them. On Jan. 30, CW stations KTLA-TV in Los Angeles and KBSB-TV in San Diego aired a segment about a Northridge, Calif., skating rinks 50th anniversary event that will support ThinkCure, the Los Angeles Dodgers official charity benefiting City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. The Jan. 25 issue of the Cancer Letter reported the appointments of Richard Jove, Ph.D., as director of Beckman Research Institute and David Horne, Ph.D., as chair of the Division of Molecular Medicine. Comments from Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president and chief executive officer, and Arthur Riggs, Ph.D., Beckman Research Institute director emeritus, also were included.

The gloves are off

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, left, and Los Angeles Police Department Chief William J. Bratton settle in to watch the 14th annual Fight for Life boxing tournament, which benefited City of Hope. A capacity crowd of nearly 5,000 spectators watched two dozen professionally trained boxers from the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department, Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department duke it out in the November boxing tournament at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The 2007 competition raised more than $50,000; since its inception, Fight for Life has generated nearly $500,000 for research, education and treatment at City of Hope.

Kim: Targets cancers beginnings

Continued from page 1

Most recently, Kim and his colleagues found that cells begin to express high levels of the CXCR4 protein at pancreatic cancers beginnings, when abnormal cells first begin to form a lesion. It also is active throughout pancreatic cancers process of development and metastasis. Kim and his colleagues now are studying CXCR4 in a special mouse model that has this early, precursor stage of pancreatic cancer. In these mice, a protein called CXCL12 binds to CXCR4 and appears to contribute to the development of the very early stages of pancreatic cancer. They are treating the mice with a drug that binds to and blocks the CXCR4 receptor. Once they better understand how CXCR4 and the signaling pathways work, they aim to create a new and better therapeutic agent targeting CXCR4. The Susan E. Riley Family Foundation was created by the estate of Susan E. Riley, a Los Angeles-area lawyer who died of pancreatic cancer. Kims CXCR4 research also has been supported by the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.

Calendar of Events
To learn about more City of Hope events, visit www.cityofhope.org/calendar.

Monday, Feb. 4
Seminar. Direct Inhibition of the Notch Transactivation Complex in T-ALL, James Bradner, Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston 11 a.m. to noon Platt 3 Conference Room Info: Bonnie Notthoff, ext. 62705 Seminar. Retroviral Regulatory Sequences and Oncogenesis, Karen L. Beemon, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore 4 to 5 p.m. Platt 3 Conference Room Info: April Armendariz, ext. 65488

Tuesday, Feb. 5
Seminar. Lessons Learned from the Clinical Biology of Esophageal Cancer and Looking Ahead, Jaffer A. Ajani, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Platt 3 Conference Room Info: Charlie Bassford, ext. 65707

Thursday, Feb. 7
Seminar. How Flies Fly, Michael H. Dickinson, Caltech 11 a.m. to noon Graff Library Conference Room Info: Jill Brantley, ext. 68365

Deadline for calendar submissions is noon on the Tuesday preceding publication. Three weeks advance notice is recommended. Timely submission does not guarantee items will be printed. Send calendar items to HopeNews@coh.org, or fax to Lorena Avila, Communications, at 626-930-5363. Submissions must include day, date, time, title, speaker first and last names and affiliation (if applicable), location and contact information (contact name, phone and/or e-mail). J02-13983.HopeNews.PM.01/08.2M

Next Issue: February 11

Alicia Di Rado
Editor NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE

Steve Kirk
Associate Editor

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Senior Vice President, Communications

Paula Myers
Creative Services

Contributors: Lorena Avila, Laurie Bellman, Carol Chaplin, Carmen R. Gonzalez, Jennifer Healy Elise Lamar, Chung So, Ryan Vincent

Phone: 626-256-4673, ext. 62356 Fax: 626-301-8462 E-mail: HopeNews@coh.org

Hope News is written and produced by the Communications Group. Copies are distributed throughout the City of Hope campus. Permission to reprint articles with attribution is freely given.

A W E E K LY P U B L I C AT I O N O F C I T Y O F H O P E

Hope News
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 4 FEBRUARY 4, 2008

Center honors contributions from Cabilly and Riggs

Former City of Hope scientist gives $5 million to support new academic center at City of Hope
by Jennifer Healy City of Hope has received a $5 million gift from Orly and Shmuel Cabilly, Ph.D., to support the new CabillyRiggs Academic Center. The gift will be used to centralize the Graduate School of Biological Sciences. The new Cabilly-Riggs Academic Center will include dedicated space for teaching laboratories, classrooms and administrative offices, as well as a 150-seat auditorium for scientific seminars. The center will be housed within the Arnold and Mabel John Rossi, left, discusses ideas with budding scientists including graduate Beckman Center for Cancer student Daniel Kim and postdoctoral fellow Pritsana Ehomchan. Such teaching moments will be commonplace in the Cabilly-Riggs Academic Center. Immunotherapeutics and Tumor Immunology, which is under construction. The Cabilly is the first-named inventor of the center is named for Shmuel Cabilly and Cabilly patent, the basis for numerous widely Arthur Riggs, Ph.D., director emeritus of used drugs produced by the biotechnology Beckman Research Institute. industry. His wife, Orly, worked as a research technician in the laboratory of John In 1981, Riggs and Cabilly, then a Rossi, Ph.D., now Lidow Family Research postdoctoral fellow in Riggs laboratory at Chair and dean of the graduate school. City of Hope, collaborated with scientists at Genentech on a novel method of making This gift continues the longstanding antibodies through recombinant DNA and collaborative relationship between technology, the process in which scientists Dr. Cabilly and City of Hope, which has edit DNA to form DNA sequences that do enabled scientific advances that have significantly improved the lives of patients not appear in nature. That work led to with life-threatening diseases, said patents on the production of novel antibodies Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president and and the development of significant cancerchief executive officer. fighting treatments including the drugs Herceptin, Rituxan and Avastin. See Cabilly page 2
Paula Myers

Grant supports key studies in pancreatic cancer mechanisms

by Alicia Di Rado A City of Hope researcher is zeroing in on a key protein that helps pancreatic cancer grow and spread, research that could lead to muchneeded drugs against this difficult malignancy thanks in part to support from the Susan E. Riley Family Foundation. The foundation has awarded Joseph Kim, M.D., a two-year, $165,000 grant to study CXCR4 in pancreatic cancer. Growing evidence indicates that CXCR4 plays a major part in the cancers growth from its very beginnings. More than 37,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the United States and more than 33,000 will die of the disease this year, according to the American Cancer Society. While surgery can successfully treat many early cases of pancreatic cancer, most tumors are
Paula Myers

Joseph Kim studies CXCR4 in his Fox-North Building lab.

Fundraising efforts quicken after 2007 successes

Team Photogenic

discovered at a later stage. And though a new chemotherapy recently was added to the arsenal against pancreatic cancer, such therapies have traditionally only shown modest effects which explains, in part, why pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. The disease calls out for better treatments, and Kim is looking for answers. We know that cancer development and metastasis involves a variety of factors, but we believe CXCR4 is especially important in the initial development of pancreatic cancer, said Kim, assistant professor in the Division of Surgery. A few years ago, Kim happened upon CXCR4, a seemingly obscure but intriguing molecule, during an Internet search. A receptor found on the surface of cells, CXCR4 is normally inactive in healthy cells; but he and colleagues soon discovered that it helps colorectal cancer spread. A growing body of research since has shown much more.
See Kim page 4

by Steve Kirk City of Hope raised more than $122 million in 2007 surpassing its goal by $15 million and fundraising successes have continued to exceed expectations in the new year. The generosity of the donors who have supported us during this first quarter is extremely encouraging and bodes well for the remainder of the year, said Kathleen Kane, executive vice president of development and external affairs. Among this years early successes is a $5 million gift from Orly and Shmuel Cabilly, Ph.D. The Cabilly gift establishes the Cabilly-Riggs Academic Center, a central component of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences,
See Fundraising page 3

Supporters such as Pacific Northwest Food Industries Circle members Dan Kourkoumelis, left, and Ron McKnight helped boost 2007 fundraising.

Apartment provides temporary sanctuary for patients after radiation therapy

City of Hope is offering a way station between hospital and home to patients with thyroid cancer who have been treated with radioactive iodine. Physicians provide radioactive iodine therapy along with surgery to fight thyroid cancer a treatment offering patients a five-year survival rate of 97 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. However, swallowing radioactive iodine known as I-131 leaves patients radioactive for a few days after treatment. To reduce potential exposure risk to family members and others, City of Hope has established an apartment in Hope Village so patients can spend a brief time alone until the radiation has dissipated. This is a tremendous opportunity, said Chuck Pickering, director and chief safety officer of the Occupational Safety & Health Department, who helped start the program. I know of no other hospital in the country that offers something similar. When Pickering joined City of Hope in 2005, thyroid cancer patients often stayed in the hospital for a few days after radiation treatment even though they were not sick, he recalled. There was no reason for most of them to be in a hospital except to isolate them, he said. Now that has changed. A Hope Village apartment is an ideal way station, Pickering said, because of its thick concrete walls that form an effective barrier to stop radiation. Even better, he said, apartments within a unit are offset, minimizing adjoining walls. Renovators installed radiation-blocking lead sheeting on adjoining walls.
Robert Doyle, left, Jim Dykes and Chuck Pickering examine a Hope Village room after a thyroid cancer patients stay to ensure no radioactivity remains.
Paula Myers

by Elise Lamar

but cannot leave the area. Friends can visit an adjacent garden but are advised to stay about six feet away to avoid radiation exposure. Patients can prepare their own food or order take-out; a TV/ DVD player and Internet connection help pass the time. Once the patient leaves, a team from Occupational Safety & Health carefully inspects the room and collects any contaminated items before housekeeping prepares the room for the next visitor. Children with thyroid cancer are also treated with I-131, but pediatric patients have not yet used the apartment. Pickering noted that the two beds in the room are about six feet apart. We could have a parent and child stay in same room, while keeping the parent safe. That is something I really like, he said.

In 2007, 10 patients used the apartment as a comfortable place to cool down after I-131 treatment. Because the thyroid gland naturally accumulates iodine, radioactive iodine acts as a sort of magic bullet targeting cancer cells that may linger after surgeons remove the gland. After a patient swallows a I-131 capsule, any lingering thyroid cells absorb radioactivity, while most is excreted in the urine and, to a lesser extent, in fluids like sweat and saliva. About half of the unstable radioisotope decays within a week, making patients an exposure risk for only a short time. Most go home after three days. Patients live alone during their stay. They have a mountain view from a fenced-in patio

While patients treated with radioactivity once remained hospitalized, the trend now is to release them immediately. It is becoming increasingly common to treat thyroid cancer patients with I-131 therapy on an outpatient basis at multiple hospitals throughout the country with no hospitalization or supervised stay whatsoever, said Dave Yamauchi, M.D., director of nuclear medicine. About 33,550 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 2007, according to American Cancer Society estimates.

Cabilly: Gift boosts education

Continued from page 1

Auxiliaries join forces in Los Angeles event

by Carmen R. Gonzalez Four longtime Los Angeles-based City of Hope auxiliaries recently collaborated for a first-of-its-kind fundraiser: The Partnership for Hope. Their collective efforts raised $75,000 to benefit cancer research, treatment and education at City of Hope. Because the groups combined their strengths, they attracted 700 guests to the event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, assuring strong support and success.
AmyCantrell.com

The Partnership for Hope was hosted in October by members of the Dick Salter, Sportsmens Club, Louis Gendel and Gift of Life chapters, along with celebrity guests Brittany Murphy, Eric Balfour and City of Hopes Star of Hope Florence Henderson. Event emcees Marilyn Freeman, co-chair of the Sportsmens Club, and Betty Gorelick, co-president of the Sportsmens Club, along with chapter presidents Shirley Herreford of the Dick Salter Chapter, Judi Goldstein of the Gift of Life Chapter, Ron Yoffe of the Louis Gendel Chapter and Steve Gorelick of the Sportsmens Club, joined the celebrities to greet and welcome guests. Highlights included a fashion show, silent and live auctions as well as guest speaker Paul Fried, who was treated for chronic myelogenous leukemia at City of Hope. I want to thank the dedicated chapter members who came together and made this event an extraordinary success, said Alan Levey, senior vice president of development. This event shows the great things our chapters can accomplish when they work together.

The couple has a rich history with City of Hope. This gift represents our belief in the impact of City of Hopes research and education programs, Shmuel Cabilly said. We believe strongly in giving researchers the freedom and resources to explore new scientific avenues, and to pursue innovative ideas to fight life-threatening diseases. Riggs, a researcher at City of Hope for more than 30 years, has developed techniques that have led to effective therapies for diabetes, cancer and other diseases. His work on products like synthetic human insulin helped develop a process for the large-scale manufacturing of protein drugs, which was a necessary foundation for the growth of an emerging biotechnology industry. Dr. Cabilly was trained in immunology. I have a long-standing interest in immunology, so it is most appropriate that the Cabilly-Riggs Academic Center is the ground floor of the new Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center, which is largely devoted to research in immunology, said Riggs. This gift from the Cabilly family will support an array of new initiatives to improve human welfare through scientific advances while offering a robust learning environment for future generations of scientists. Noted Rossi: This generous gift will have a long-lasting impact on our graduate school and the educational experience of our students by enhancing our ability to integrate clinical and academic programs. The Cabilly-Riggs Academic Center is slated to open in 2009.
FEBRUARY 4, 2008

Former City of Hope patient and cancer survivor Paul Fried plays the flute at the Partnership for Hope event.

2 HOPE NEWS

Scientists report advances against diabetes at Levine symposium

City of Hope researchers were among the more than 50 international investigators reporting advances against type 1 diabetes at the recent Rachmiel Levine Diabetes and Obesity Symposium in Newport Beach, Calif.
Photos by Markie Ramirez

by Elise Lamar

Consortium, which monitors distribution of islets for transplant or research. Niland reported growing demand for islets and described the organizations efforts to optimize and standardize shipping of the fragile tissues to ensure quality. Islet quality was also a concern of Daniel R. Salomon, M.D., of The Scripps Research Institute, who reported on a collaboration with City of Hope scientist Fouad R. Kandeel, M.D., Ph.D, director of the Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism. Salomon and Kandeel have Rama Natarajan identified a gene expression pattern characteristic of healthy islets. Such gene signatures can be used to ensure islets quality before transplantation. Topics went beyond transplantation, however. Natarajan, for one, described her search for genomic changes associated with type 1 diabetes. Natarajans group looked for these changes, called histone methylation, in genes from patients blood cells. They found that histone methylation patterns in genes associated with inflammation differed between healthy people and those with diabetes, suggesting that the changes may switch genes on inappropriately. The symposium is named for the late Rachmiel Levine, M.D., a notable diabetes researcher and City of Hope executive medical director in the 70s and early 80s. Primary supporters for the symposium included the Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Diabetes and Genetics Research Center, Southern California Islet Cell Resources Center and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Two City of Hope investigators Joyce Niland, Ph.D., the Edward and Estelle Alexander Chair in Information Sciences, and Rama Natarajan, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Diabetes, Joyce Niland Endocrinology & Metabolism spoke at the eighth annual symposium, held from Jan. 13 to 16. City of Hope and the Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Diabetes and Genetic Research Center hosted the event. Symposium topics ranged from the biology of insulin-producing cells destroyed in type 1 diabetes known as islets to improvements in islet cell transplantation. Surgeons perform islet cell transplantation, in which cells from a donor pancreas are transplanted into patients, at City of Hope. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has designated the institution as one of its 14 official islet cell transplant centers in the United States. Cells need insulin to produce energy from sugar in the bloodstream; type 1 diabetes occurs when those cells are destroyed and cannot create insulin. Although insulin injection is still the standard treatment, transplantation of healthy insulin-producing cells represents an alternative or supplement to insulin injection. Niland discussed national movements in transplantation. She updated attendees on an umbrella group called the National Islet Cell Resource

Fundraising: Development staff heads into new year propelled by strong momentum from 2007
Continued from page 1

which will be located within the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Cancer Immunotherapeutics and Tumor Immunology. The gift builds on the critical support to the construction of the center provided by the $5 million donation from the Argyros Foundation in 2007. Another major 2007 gift was $20 million from the Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Foundation to fund a significant addition to the Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Diabetes and Genetic Research Center. The number of endowed chairs grew to eight in 2007 with the addition of the Lester M. and Irene C. Finkelstein Chair in Biology. This $2 million gift established the chair, now held by Gerd

Pfeifer, Ph.D. Another $3 million from Eric Lidow and the Lidow Foundation created the Lidow Family Research Chair, held by John Rossi, Ph.D., chair and professor of molecular biology and dean of the graduate school. Robert Figlin, M.D., was named as the Arthur and Rosalie Kaplan Professor of Medical Oncology, thanks to the Kaplan family, which has supported City of Hope for generations. During 2007, bequests donations made through wills and trusts contributed $35 million, a record total. And important grants from prominent entities such as the W.M. Keck Foundation, the Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation, the V Foundation, Sidell-Kagan Foundation and

STOP CANCER directly boosted scientists work. Online giving also increased significantly. City of Hope raised more than $510,000 in 2007 through online donations, including general contributions and funds generated through the Cards for Hope program. This figure represents an increase of nearly 37 percent compared to 2006, which is significant, said Diana Keim, senior director of development. This can be largely attributed to changing attitudes toward online giving. People are becoming more comfortable conducting financial transactions over the Internet. Kane sees the growing fundraising dollars in 2007 and early 2008 as vital to support City of Hopes strategic plan, which will ultimately help patients not only in City of Hopes medical center but far beyond it.

Construction industry leaders build vital support for City of Hope

by Jennifer Healy The construction industry is not only helping to build Southern California it plays a key part in supporting City of Hope. Members of the Construction Industry Alliance raised more than $1.8 million for City of Hopes cancer research and treatment programs in 2007. Southern California executives in the group recently celebrated the culmination of their successful year-long fundraising campaign. The Construction Industry Alliance Spirit of Life campaign was led by Bruce Elieff, chairman
FEBRUARY 4, 2008

and chief executive officer of SunCal Companies. Elieff was presented with The Spirit of Life Award, the institutions top philanthropic honor, at a gala dinner in Anaheim in October. I am honored to be a part of this outstanding group whose support of City of Hope dates back to 1974, said Elieff. The dedication of City of Hopes physicians and scientists mirrors that of our industry members, who share the institutions commitment to advancing research and finding cures for cancer and other serious diseases.

Karina Pires

Michael A. Friedman, left, joins Bruce and Kathy Elieff.

HOPE NEWS