Rare Cancer Research
Smashfest raises funds to support rare cancer and concussion research. Our partner non-profit for rare cancer is The Katie Moore Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) organization in the US.
THE KATIE MOORE FOUNDATION’S MISSION
One day, patients with rare cancers will benefit from precision medicine in the same way that those with common cancers benefit.
THE CHALLENGES IN TREATING AND RESEARCHING RARE CANCERS
Currently, patients with rare cancers face poor outcomes compared to patients with common cancers. This is because progress requires data and funding, which is traditionally a challenge for rare disease research.
Our Partnership with the Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard is changing this.
“Prior to the launch of the Katie Moore Fund, there were two major barriers to progress in rare cancer research: it was impossible for patients with rare cancers at any hospital in the US to donate living samples of their cancer tissue for the creation of cell models, and in the lab, there was no proven strategy to create cell models from any rare tumor with high success rates.
With the support of the Katie Moore Foundation, we’ve overcome these two barriers.”
— Dr. Jesse Boehm, Scientific Director at The Broad Institute
THE KATIE MOORE FOUNDATION’S APPROACH TO RARE CANCER RESEARCH
The Katie Moore Foundation is working with the Broad Institute to build a platform to accelerate the study and treatment of rare cancers in 4 steps:
THE KATIE MOORE FOUNDATION STORY
The Katie Moore Foundation was established in 2013 in honor of Katie Urbanic Moore, Dominic Moore’s first wife. Katie was diagnosed with a rare liver cancer, Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma, in 2012 and was faced with the very difficult situation of having no clear treatment options. Guesswork rather than research drove her treatmentment. She passed away in January of 2013 at the age of 31.
This same story plays out for many patients with rare cancers. They do not have a clear treatment plan and often suffer poor outcomes because of it. We are working to fight this.
We believe that one day, patients with rare cancers will be able to benefit from precision medicine and thereby drastically improve outcomes.
