Precision Medicine Research at Karmanos Comparing Biomarker Predictions for African American, Middle Eastern Breast Cancer Patients Receives $16K Boost
A Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute clinical researcher and her team have received $16,000 to further research in precision medicine for breast cancer treatment. Common Citizen leadership delivered the check to Jailan Elayoubi, M.D., medical oncologist and member of the Breast Cancer and Phase 1 Clinical Trials Multidisciplinary Teams, in November 2023.
Dr. Elayoubi and her team have made significant strides in studying biomarkers and tumor molecular characteristics that may predict sensitivity and responses to customized treatment approaches for breast cancer. This research is important in changing the standard of care to avoid overtreatment, prescribing less toxic treatments, and providing a more targetable novel therapy for breast cancer patients. Now, her team is going further in their research by comparing the ability of biomarkers to predict outcomes in breast cancer patients from different ethnicities.
“I want to focus on patients of African American descent and patients of Middle Eastern descent because they are under-represented in clinical trials, and we are starting to see some evidence that the predictive ability of biomarkers may not be the same across all ethnicities,” explained Dr. Elayoubi, who is also a member of the Population Studies and Disparities Research Program at Karmanos.
“The knowledge accumulation from this multi-step project will help us refine our choices for biomarker usage according to ethnicity and, hopefully, will help better guide our treatment decisions, which is a step forward in the direction of personalized medicine,” she added.
Common Citizen collected donations throughout October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as part of their Honor Those Impacted. Overcome Breast Cancer. Push for a Cure. Everyone Can Make a Difference! (HOPE) effort. The company donated $1 for each sale of the most popular brands at their retail locations.
“At Common Citizen, we are committed to providing our highest-quality cannabis to help our patients relieve the day-to-day ailments, nausea, aches and pains, and more that come with facing cancer and other life-threatening diseases,” said Michael Elias, Common Citizen CEO. “We are honored to do our part to support breast cancer research through the world-renowned Karmanos Cancer Institute. Our month-long fundraising event is part of our commitment to giving back to our patients, their families, and the communities we proudly serve through cannabis.”
Each day, oncologists and scientists at Karmanos, such as Dr. Elayoubi, help patients and their families fight cancer. Common Citizens’ donation helps Karmanos give hope to cancer patients and provide breakthrough research to improve treatments for the next generation.
You can help in our everyday efforts toward a world free of cancer. Make a gift today to provide our patients with every possible resource to give them their best chance. Head to karmanos.org/donate to help fund the fight against cancer.
You may also conduct your own fundraiser, just like Common Citizen. Click here to learn how.
