2012 Patient Symposium, Running for Answers Run/Walk

Light refreshments will be served during a break.

Attending the DTRF Patient Meeting gives patients and family members the opportunity to hear from the experts and learn about the most current treatment options and research. As one patient commented, "I just wanted to tell you how incredibly informative the DTRF Patient Symposium was. The doctors that presented did a wonderful job in giving an overview of the disease and current treatment options... I know so much more now than I did before."

 Currently the speakers include the following: (Updated 1/22/2012)
(Please note that we will update speakers as more information becomes available)

• Raphael E. Pollock, MD, PhD (MD Anderson Cancer Center) - Dr. Pollock is Head of the Division of Surgery, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgical Oncology, and Professor of Cancer Biology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas where he also is the incumbent in the Senator A. M. Aiken, Jr. Distinguished Chair. His clinical and research interests involve the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma.
• Mrinal Gounder, MD (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) - Dr. Gounder is an Assistant Professor and medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center specializing in the care of patients with sarcomas of soft tissue and bone and developing new drugs in cancer. He has a special clinical and research interest in desmoid tumors and recently showed for the first time that sorafenib is an active drug in desmoid tumors. He will be the lead investigator on an exciting upcoming nexavar study. Dr. Gounder is the Scientific Director of the Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation.
• Dina C. Lev, MD (MD Anderson Cancer Center) - Dr. Lev is a DTRF Grant Recipient and is an Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center and has made significant progress in the understanding of desmoid tumors. Dr. Lev's research has involved the role of CTNNB1 45F mutation as a potential molecular predictor of recurrence for desmoid tumors.
• James Church, MD (Cleveland Clinic) - Dr. Church is Director of the Jagelman Inherited Colorectal Cancer Registries at the Cleveland Clinic and has a special interest in inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, inherited colorectal cancer and colonoscopy. He holds the Victor Fazio Chair of Colorectal Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and is Director of the Weiss Center for Hereditary Colorectal Cancer and Vice Chairman of the Department of Colorectal Surgery. Dr. Church's presentation will be of special interest to FAP patients.

Following the talks will be a chance for patients to interact with the experts and with each other. This has been the highlight of the event for many of our attendees.