Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit to host healthy breast tissue collection event Saturday, Sept. 24, to help advance cancer research

DETROIT, Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Women can help contribute to cancer research by donating a sample of healthy breast tissue during a collection event at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required prior to the event and scheduling will begin on or after Aug. 8.  Women ages 18 and older from all ethnicities are encouraged to donate.

Karmanos Cancer Institute is hosting the tissue collection event for the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis in collaboration with the Susan G. Komen Detroit Race for the Cure® and Wayne State University.  

Why Healthy Breast Tissue Donations are Needed

The goal of the Sept. 24 collection event is to obtain healthy breast tissue samples from 200 women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds to help researchers better understand the differences between healthy breast tissue in women from various cultures. The samples will also help show how healthy breast tissue changes at different stages of a woman's life, and will allow researchers to compare healthy breast tissue to cancerous tissue. Understanding these changes in breast tissue may help determine possible causes of breast cancer, help find ways to prevent the disease, and help advance new cancer treatments.

The Komen Tissue Bank is the first and only biorepository of normal breast tissue in the world. To date, more than 4,500 women have contributed breast tissue samples to the Komen Tissue Bank. The research being conducted studies the disparities between cultural groups that will benefit cancer patients across the globe.

Physicians and trained staff from Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Komen Tissue Bank will collect the tissue samples, while Komen Detroit Race for the Cure® leads the charge to mobilize several other Detroit-based organizations to support the event by volunteering and raising awareness of the need for healthy breast tissue to help advance cancer research, especially among minorities.   

"Although we have made great progress in breast cancer research and treatments, there is still so much we don't yet understand as to why certain people get breast cancer and why it's more aggressive in some cultures versus others," said Michele Cote, Ph.D., associate center director of Education at Karmanos Cancer Institute and associate professor of Oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine.

"The majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no known family history of the disease," added Dr. Cote. "African American women are often diagnosed with a more aggressive breast cancer that can lead to a higher mortality than Caucasian women. Latino women are often diagnosed at a younger age. Having normal breast tissue samples to study will help give insight as to why these disparities exist and how we might help illuminate them for our children, grandchildren and future generations." 

Katrina Studvent, director of Breast Cancer Special Programs at Karmanos and chair of the Komen Detroit Race for the Cure®, is a 10-year breast cancer survivor, diagnosed at age 30. 

"Having diverse women donate their healthy breast tissue will help scientists better understand why other ethnic groups develop the disease disproportionally," said Studvent. "Donating a small sample of healthy breast tissue can have a big impact on advancing science that can help save more lives in the future."  

Pre-Registration and What to Expect during the Donation Process

Pre-registration appointment scheduling begins on or after Aug. 8 and must be done in advance of the Sept. 24 collection. (It's recommended that participants register at least one week prior to the event.) To register for the Komen Tissue Bank healthy breast tissue collection event hosted by Karmanos Cancer Institute, visit www.komentissuebank.iu.edu or call 866-763-0047.  

Women of all ethnicities are encouraged to donate a sample of their heathy breast tissue. To participate, women must:

• Be age 18 or older
• Have the ability to understand and be willing to sign an informed consent
• Be willing to give one hour of their time to complete a questionnaire and a breast biopsy
• Have no allergies to local anesthetics (numbing medicine)
• Not be receiving a therapeutic blood thinner (excluding aspirin)
• Not have breast implants 

The entire tissue collection process usually takes 60 - 90 minutes Participation consists of completing an informed consent document and an online questionnaire, having height and weight measurements taken, giving a blood sample, having a breast tissue sample collected, and providing annual medical follow-up information.

"The majority of women who have donated have some personal connection to breast cancer," said Anna Maria Storniolo, M.D., executive director of the tissue bank and a physician scientist at the IU Simon Cancer Center. "They donate because their mother, neighbor or friend had breast cancer. They feel so helpless. They're frustrated because they can't do enough. When the opportunity comes up to donate, they jump at the chance."

WHAT: Komen Tissue Bank Healthy Breast Tissue Collection Event at Karmanos Cancer Institute

WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 24
Pre-Registration is needed prior to Sept 24. Appointments can be made starting Aug. 8.

WHERE: Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
4100 John R, between Warren Ave. and Mack, in Detroit, Mich., 48201
Surface and garage parking will be complimentary.

WHY: To help advance cancer research and help close the gap on cancer disparities by gaining a better understanding of normal breast tissue functions.

WHO: Women of all ethnicities, age 18 and older, who do not have cancer are needed to donate a healthy breast tissue sample.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

To register, visit www.komentissuebank.iu.edu  or call 866-763-0047. Donors must have a confirmed appointment time. Appointment times will be scheduled starting Aug. 8.

The Komen Tissue Bank, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University and Komen Detroit Race for the Cure® thank the following community partners: AARP; Centro Multicultural La Familia; Ford Motor Company; Gift of Life Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program; Motor City Dragons; New Prospect Missionary

Baptist Church; Pontiac Chapter of National Panhellenic Council; S.A.Y. Clinic; Sisters Network of Greater Metro Detroit Chapter; 'The People Expert"; Young Survival Coalition; and WITNESS Project of Detroit.

About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

Located in mid-town Detroit, Michigan, the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, a subsidiary of McLaren Health Care, is one of 47 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Karmanos is among the nation's best cancer centers. Through the commitment of 1,000 staff, including nearly 300 physicians and researchers on faculty at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and supported by thousands of volunteer and financial donors, Karmanos strives to prevent, detect and eradicate all forms of cancer. Its long-term partnership with the WSU School of Medicine enhances the collaboration of critical research and academics related to cancer care. Gerold Bepler, M.D., Ph.D., is the Institute's president and chief executive officer. For more information call 1-800-KARMANOS or go to www.karmanos.org.

About the Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center

The Susan G. Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Cancer Center (Komen Tissue Bank or KTB) is the only normal breast tissue bio-repository of its kind in the world. As such, it is uniquely positioned to characterize the molecular and genetic basis of normal breast development and compare it to the different types of breast cancer. The bank was established expressly for the acquisition of normal  tissues — breast tissue, epithelial and stromal cell lines, serum, plasma and DNA — from volunteer donors with no clinical evidence of breast disease and/or malignancy, providing a resource to investigators around the globe. The Komen Tissue Bank is an Indiana University research entity.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151221/317651LOGO

SOURCE Karmanos Cancer Institute

Related Links

http://www.karmanos.org