Volume 5 | January 11, 2023 | View in Browser
Welcome to 2023! We dive into the new year with hope and determination to Make it Better together. When we connect as a community, magical things happen like idea generation, collaboration, resource sharing, and a renewed sense of urgency inspired by our patient community. We are thrilled to offer multiple ways to connect in 2023. We can't wait to see you all again at our annual FACTOR conference, June 22-24 in Atlanta. And if June seems too far away, we invite you to join us in Denver and Atlanta this February for our MIB Mingles. Our Healing Hearts program creates a safe space for bereaved parents to connect, with a new winter series and drop-in session starting this month. For our clinicians and scientists, our Tumor Review Board for Osteosarcoma (TURBO) is a bi-monthly forum to connect and discuss complex cases with colleagues. There are so many ways to connect with our community - whether you apply for an OutSmarting Osteosarcoma grant, submit an abstract for FACTOR 2023, volunteer as a Writer Agent to support our Warrior Mail program, or donate to support patient programs and research - each of us plays a vital role in Making it Better together.
With Hope,
Ann
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Join us June 22-24 at the Whitley Hotel in Atlanta for the 6th Annual FACTOR conference! Registration will open in February.
Submit an Abstract - Due 2/24/2023 Stay tuned for Travel Awards!
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MIB Mingles are a wonderful opportunity for conversation and collaboration with our scientific, patient, and industry communities who are united in our goal to Make it Better for osteosarcoma patients. Mingles are open to anyone who wants to Make It Better with us.
RSVP to Mingle with us in Denver on 2/8
RSVP to Mingle with us in Atlanta on 2/23
The Modiano Lab is working to understand what causes cancer and what drives its behaviors -- translating that knowledge into better treatments and, ultimately, fewer cases of cancer in animals and in human patients. We asked Jaime F. Modiano, VMD, PhD, Perlman Professor of Oncology and Comparative Medicine and Director, Animal Cancer Care and Research Program at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota to share how his team is translating lab findings to canine trials, updates on current immunotherapy studies in canine osteosarcoma, and what is he most excited about for the future of osteosarcoma research.
If you have a job posting and you would like it included here, please email christina@mibagents.org.
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A virtual tumor review board for osteosarcoma, TURBO is open to global clinicians or researchers with an interest in osteosarcoma. Patients and families are welcome to ask their oncologists to present a case on their behalf. Join TURBO to request an invite or submit a case.
Next meeting: January 11th at 5pm ET.
Watch Past Episodes and See the Upcoming Schedule
A new 12-week session of Healing Hearts will begin on January 11th at 7p ET and run weekly through March 29th. Bereaved parents of OsteoAngels who are interested in joining the group should fill out the short form on our website and may contact isabel@mibagents.org with any questions. Led by grief counselor Lori Krause, these workshops are free of charge to all bereaved parents.
New to Healing Hearts in 2023 is our informal Open Hearts monthly drop-in session, which will also be facilitated by Lori Krause. Designed as an introduction to Healing Hearts, no registration is required. The first Open Hearts session is scheduled for Monday, January 23rd at 7pm ET. Please feel free to join with this zoom link. Please contact isabel@mibagents.org with any questions.
"Lori Krause is an amazing human being. She is the major reason why I feel safe in sharing about my son Dominic’s loss to osteosarcoma. Without this group, I would suffer in silence and have no direction as to how to keep on living in my new reality."- Matthew Wittmann | Because of Dominic
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Warrior Mail for the Holidays was simply tremendous! We had 27 Agent Writers deliver over one thousand cards and letters to 40 OsteoWarriors! The record breaking 1021 spectacular efforts most certainly put smiles on faces and in hearts! Thanks to the Oak Ridge High School Key Club in North Carolina, we were also able to send 23 packages to our kids from Santa! Now let’s all hope for a better New Year!
The 2023 OutSmarting Osteosarcoma Applications Due 2/3/23
Collaboration among the scientific and patient communities is a key hallmark of MIB Agents. MIB Agents OutSmarting Osteosarcoma grants are supported by MIB Agents Family Funds, osteosarcoma patients, and families who raise funds in honor of an OsteoWarrior or OsteoAngel. Their dedication to Making It Better and fostering collaboration and education in the scientific community makes every MIB Agents award incredibly meaningful. 2023 funding mechanisms include a $100,000 one-year grant and a $50,000 one-year grant for young investigators. Begun in 2017, OutSmarting Osteosarcoma has supported eleven investigators and awarded $950,000 to support osteosarcoma research. We expect to award multiple grants in 2023.
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High dose radiotherapy such as radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) can deliver highly focused radiotherapy as a non-invasive ablative tool over 1-5 days. These tools are underutilized for younger patients given limited available data.A large sarcoma SBRT experience at Cleveland Clinic found that specific immune parameters at baseline and change over time predict for local control and survival for patients receiving SBRT for their metastatic and recurrent sarcomas. A prospective clinical trial is now available to patients with recurrent or metastatic sarcoma who are eligible to receive SBRT which will evaluate this further. On this trial, blood samples will be drawn prior to and after SBRT and in follow up to determine the impact of SBRT on the patient's own immune system. Results from this trial will help inform the best way to incorporate SBRT into the overall treatment plan for osteosarcoma patients. To inquire about the trial, please call 216-445-4895.
Preliminary anti-tumor activity for NCT04833582 was presented in a poster at CTOS 2022. 9 of 12 subjects (75%) evaluable for efficacy achieved best overall response of stable disease (SD). 4 subjects out of the 12 evaluable for event-free survival (EFS) at 18 weeks demonstrated SD at the 18-week tumor assessment; corresponding to 33% EFS at 18 weeks. Global enrollment began August 1, 2021 and is ongoing.
Access the MIB Agents clinical trials search powered by Antidote to find a clinical trial for osteosarcoma in 60 seconds.If you have a trial that is currently enrolling osteosarcoma patients and you would like it included here, please email christina@mibagents.org.
