Ingrid Mayer, M.D.
Mayer lands breast cancer research grant
Ingrid Mayer, M.D., assistant professor of Hematology/Oncology, is one of the inaugural recipients of the 2007 Grants in Translational Breast Cancer Research from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
The two-year, $233,333 grants provide direct support for innovative breast cancer research projects designed to accelerate the discovery, development and application of new ways to treat breast cancer, or for preclinical research with direct therapeutic implications.
“I feel honored and fortunate to have this research project funded since only three out of 56 applicants were chosen to receive these awards,” said Mayer. “Breast cancer is a very heterogeneous disease and the results of this research will help clarify how best to treat some forms of breast cancer that are resistant to treatment.”
Mayer has launched a Phase II clinical trial to test the use of the drugs letrozole with lapatinib in post-menopausal patients with hormone-dependent, HER2-positive breast cancers. Researchers want to know if the combination of an aromatase inhibitor with an EGFR/HER2 inhibitor will work better in preventing failure of some tumors to respond to anti-hormonal treatment.