We have created this section of our web site to inform our members of the status of Grants the Foundation has completed as well as the Grants that ECEF has made for the current year to various Institutions and Grants it is considering  during the coming year and beyond. The funds we receive from donations are earmaked to cover our commitment to these projects and support the Grants in Process.

We have displayed these Grants in the following categories:

GRANTS COMPLETED

 CDROM Project

ECEF was established in 2003 with the main purpose at the time to raise the $75,000 that Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center deemed the cost to be to use its resources to establish a computer disk that people could use as a reference source if they were diagnosed with esophageal cancer. This CD ROM was completed in 2004 and it has been given to each esophageal cancer patient that has been so diagnosed at MSKCC. In addition this CD ROM is available on our web site as something you can request and ECEF will send that out to patients and caregivers who join ECEF at no cost to the person requesting it. It is ECEF'S intent not update this CD ROM since it is an expensive way of getting the message out about this disease. Instead we are awaiting MSKCC decision to place the contents of this CD updated on their web site. When this is done then ECEF will link to that file and have it available to ECEF members.

Book Grant

ECEF decided to give Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center a $1,800 grant to cover the purchase of 100 books called 100 Questions & Anmswers About Esopjhageal Cancer to be distributed to patients who have been newly diagnosed with this disease.

 GRANTS IN PROCESS

Research Project to establish a blood test to detect esophageal cancer at an early stage

Dr. Prasad Adusumilli Research Project to establish a blood test to detect esophageal cancer at an early stage  The agreement we reached with Dr Adusumilli is to pay directly into this project so the money provided would go directly to the research project and not be subject to the administrative cost elements that most grants include. We agreed to give him a $100,000 grant to continue his work on this project and to give him that money in two installments. One installment of $50,000 has been paid to him in January 2011 and the remaining installment of $50,000 is due in January 2012. A prospective clinical trial to determine mesothelin as a biomarker for the early detection and clinical management of Barrett’s esophagus progression to adenocarcinoma.

Thoracic surgeons at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), New York have long focused on identifying markers of long-term prognosis in patients undergoing surgical resection for esophageal cancer. These efforts received a boost when Prasad Adusumilli, a thoracic surgeon-scientist at MSKCC observed that a protein is overexpressed in esophageal cancer cells. Dr. Adusumilli team observed that 3 out of 4 patients with Barrett’s esophagus who subsequently developed esophageal cancer express this antigen on the surface of the cancer cells. Most intriguingly, the protein expression is observed only when there is cancerous transformation in the Barrett’s esophagus (high grade dysplasia), and not expressed in low grade dysplasia or in acid reflux patients. This protein can be measured by a simple blood test. In fact, Dr. Adusumilli investigations revealed that more than two-thirds of esophageal cancer patients had elevated blood levels of the cancer-specific protein. The blood levels reflected the tumor burden at the time of operation indicating the significance of this blood test not only for the early detection of esophageal cancer, but also for follow-up after surgical resection.

A recent National Cancer Institute, NCI application by Dr. Adusumilli to conduct a prospective clinical trial to investigate the utility of this blood test in a larger population was scored at 23 percentile indicating the strength of this approach. Although applications at this scoring were previously funded by the NCI, in the current economic environment, only top 15% are funded. While Dr. Adusumilli intends to resubmit the grant application, the Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation is eager to support this ongoing clinical trial so that the blood test will be approved for patients anywhere. Currently, patients and families who are interested in participating in this clinical trial can contact us by emailing contact details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or contact Dr. Adusumilli’s office (http://www.mskcc.org/prg/prg/bios/1029.cfm or Tel: 212-639-8093)

Dr. Raja Flores  Attached is our proposal for the ECEF, titled "Early Detection of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Using Targeted Fluorescent Imaging."

Watch the Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hz73ZZ0NKE

ECEF has given a $60,000 grant to Mount Sinai to cover a portion of the project mentioned below. This grant will be made in two installments namely, $30,000 in January 2012 and $30,000 in January 2013. 

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is one of the most rapidly rising cancers in the United States today and carries a poor five-year survival rate (<15%) due to late diagnosis. EAC arises in a condition known as Barrett’s esophagus and progresses to cancer through an intermediate stage known as dysplasia. While this would seem to allow ample opportunity for early detection and intervention, the current standard of endoscopic surveillance of Barrett’s esophagus is inadequate and has been shown to miss up to 57% of early cancers.

Advanced endoscopic imaging technologies, such as confocal microendoscopy, have developed as a way of improving endoscopic surveillance. Confocal microendoscopy relies on the use of fluorescent contrast agents to provide 1100x magnified images of the esophageal lining. This allows the endoscopist to see and remove cancer at an early, treatable stage. The technology has revolutionized the way gastroenterologists screen the esophagus, allowing cancer (and precancer) to be detected when it is < 1-2 mm in size and easily removeable. Current confocal endoscopes rely on non-specific contrast agents such as IV fluorescein. Unfortunately, current agents do not target the molecular ‘footprint’ of esophageal cancer. In our project, we propose to develop and test novel, molecule-specific contrast agents to EGFR and HER2 for use with confocal microendoscopes. We believe that such contrast agents can be used to highlight areas of pre-cancer or cancer (“molecular beacon”) during real-time endoscopic surveillance thus enhancing early detection efforts and facilitating minimally invasive therapy.

GRANTS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR 2012 AND BEYOND

The Proposed Grant below was considered by the Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation and although found worthy of our support, ECEF could not, because of financial considerations, committ to supporting it in 2012. If our donation base increases we will consider this project during our subsequent Board of Directors Meetings during 2012

Dr. Prasad Adusumilli Real-time intraoperative detection of tissue oxygenation by Wireless Pulse Oximetry (WiPOX).
The most effective approach todate to treat esophageal cancer is to resect the esophagus and restore the continuity by anastomosing (joining) the stomach to the resected esophagus. Dehiscence or leakage from anastomotic sites following esophageal surgery occurs in one of six patients, and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.  Currently, following stomach mobilization, surgeons assess tissue viability and blood supply by simple visual inspection. Increasingly, esophageal operations are performed by minimally invasive techniques, which add complexity to the problem of assessing stomach oxygenation prior to the anastomosis.

Dr. Adusumilli, a thoracic surgeon-scientist at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has motivated a group of senior bioengineering students at the City College of Bioengineering, New York to develop a device that measures tissue oxygenation during surgery by use of a simpel Wireless Pulse Oximeter (WiPOX). This device is validated in animal studies (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20972585) and is now in a clinical trial at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The WIPOX device is a hand held miniature probe that can be applied to the surface of the esophagus and stomach to display oxygen saturation.  This will not only enable the surgeon to monitor blood supply compromise in real time to rectify any conduit twisting, but will also allow the surgeon to confidently select the site of the anastomosis. The thoracic surgeons at MSKCC are utilizing this device in a prospective clinical trial to measure tissue oxygenation in real-time ensuring the viability of surgical anastomoses, thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality of esophageal cancer operations. Please contact us (http://www.fightec.org) if you are interested to learn more about this clinical trial or Dr. Adusumilli’s office (http://www.mskcc.org/prg/prg/bios/1029.cfm or Tel: 212 639 8093).