Patients, Advocates, Researchers Come Together to Kick Cancer's KRAS

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cancer patient advocates, researchers and pharmaceutical industry partners will be joining forces for the inaugural KRAS Kickers Connect conference held here this weekend. The event, an in-person and virtual hybrid featuring world renowned scientists and patient advocate leaders, will be held Saturday, Sept. 25, at the Renaissance Charlotte SouthPark Hotel in Charlotte.

"Until very recently," says Terri Conneran, KRAS Kickers Founder and Charlotte lung cancer patient/survivor, "the prognosis was dismal for cancer patients with the KRAS biomarker. For four decades, KRAS was considered 'undruggable.' Now, though, because of promising clinical trials and new therapeutics, we are celebrating the Pipeline of Hope for KRAS cancer patients with recent FDA approval of the first targeted therapy and more on the horizon."

The event was made possible by leading pharmaceutical companies committed to improving the prognosis for people with the KRAS biomarker facing a cancer diagnosis, including Platinum Sponsors Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim and Mirati Therapeutics.

The KRAS biomarker, or gene mutation, is the most common cancer biomarker, accounting for one-third of all cancers. It is the most identified mutation in the deadliest of cancers: lung, colorectal, pancreatic and others. Conneran founded KRAS Kickers to connect people to current research, resources, and community with a knowledgeable KRAS network of information and support.

In addition to patient advocates, other distinguished speakers include the following:

• Jessica Buscho, a Stage IV colon cancer patient/survivor, who keeps informed about progress in cancer treatment and clinical trials. Learning about scientific advancements encouraged her to enter a clinical trial and advocate for increasing patient access.
• Dr. Ramaswamy Govindan, Anheuser Busch Chair in Medical Oncology and Director of Medical Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, who researches molecular alteration in lung cancer.
• Russell H. Greenfield, M.D., Senior Director of Employee Whole Health for Whole Health Institute, former medical director of Novant Health Integrative Medicine, who develops national models for complementary and alternative therapies.
• Pasi A. Jänne, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Director of Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science at Dana-Farber.
• Darryl McConnell, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Research Site Head at Boehringer-Ingelheim Regional Centre Vienna, Austria, who focuses on discovering new therapeutics for cancer.

The conference will be livestreamed and recorded for registrants.

ABOUT KRAS KICKERS

KRAS Kickers members engage with leading doctors, researchers, and advocates to learn about new developments and clinical trials, connect to resources, build community, and share their stories to give hope to others with a common goal to kick cancer's KRAS! KRAS Kickers is a part of the Dusty Joy Foundation (LiveLung), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advances education, early detection, and empathy to people impacted by lung cancer and other cancers triggered by specific biomarkers.

For more information visit kraskickers.org.  

PRESS CONTACTS:
Terri Conneran, 704.299.0814, [email protected]  
Dusty Donaldson, 336.302.7714, [email protected]

SOURCE KRAS Kickers