In a clinical trial, patients with gastric cancer who received low-dose olanzapine during chemotherapy experienced improved appetite and weight gain over those who received a placebo. “In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the efficacy of olanzapine for appetite stimulation and weight gain during chemotherapy was assessed. Patients with untreated gastric, hepatopancreaticobiliary, or lung cancer were started on low-dose olanzapine (2.5 mg daily) or placebo at the initiation of chemotherapy. Among patients who received olanzapine, there was a higher proportion of ..read more

The Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP) is looking for patients and their care partners who feel comfortable sharing their experiences with gastric cancer. Specifically, CISCRP is looking for individuals who: Are 18 years of age or older Reside in the United States Have been diagnosed with gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer Must have a HER2 mutation (HER2-positive) Must have had at least one line of treatment (ideally some will have used Enhertu or another trastuzumab-based treatment, but this is not required) OR Are the primary car ..read more

In 2021, the Gastric Cancer Foundation awarded two $100,000 grants to researchers pursuing novel approaches to treating gastric cancer, as part of our goal of supporting scientists who have promising but unproven ideas. We’re excited to report that the funding helped generate data that both grantees said will be vital to moving the research forward. The grants were awarded to Timothy Wang, M.D., professor at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, who is focused on improving immunotherapy in gastric cancer, and Nina Salama, Ph.D., professor at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Res ..read more

  When Samuel J. Klempner, M.D. received the $300,000 Ben Feinstein Memorial Research Scholar Award from the Gastric Cancer Foundation and the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) in 2020, his goal was to probe causes and potential solutions to “peritoneal spread”—the migration of cancer cells into the lining of the abdomen. About 40% of patients experience this problem, which greatly lowers the odds of survival. Klempner is excited about what he’s learned so far and enthusiastic about his research plan for the final year. Klempner’s mission is to study the composition of the abdom ..read more

In 2021, the Gastric Cancer Foundation committed $257,856 towards an expansion of the Gastric Cancer Registry (GCR) at Stanford University, which helped fuel several milestones. The registry’s researchers have since completed the genomic sequencing of 175 gastric tumor samples, providing a wealth of data to users of the GCR Genome Explorer, a HIPAA-compliant online portal scientists can use to review the molecular features of stomach tumors. “We’re now able to provide information about gastric cancer that isn’t available from any other source,” says principal investigator Hanlee Ji, MD, Profes ..read more

Could new technology help identify a new role in gastric cancer for a drug that’s been used for the past eight years to treat other cancers? That’s the goal of Gastric Cancer Foundation grant awardee Nilay S. Sethi, M.D., Ph.D., associate program director of the medical oncology fellowship at Dana-Farber/Mass General Brigham and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard medical school. The foundation recently awarded Sethi a $100,000 grant to study the potential of a class of targeted drugs called PARP (poly-ADP ribose polymerase) inhibitors to treat some patients with gastric cancer. He w ..read more

The Gastric Cancer Foundation is committed to addressing a key funding gap in research: Very little funding is available to early- and mid-stage career scientists who have novel ideas for treating gastric cancer. We are committed to filling this gap, in the hopes of advancing new breakthroughs for treating this tough cancer. Therefore the Foundation is proud to announce it has awarded two new $100,000 research grants. The first will go to Eunyoung Choi, Ph.D., assistant professor in the section of surgical science at Vanderbilt University, who is focused on interrupting the transformation of p ..read more

SAN MATEO, Calif., March 30, 2022 The Gastric Cancer Foundation (GCF) has announced the launch of its 2022 grant program. GCF plans to award a total of $200,000 in new grant funding and is now accepting letters of intent from researchers who are working on novel projects aimed at discovering new therapies for this challenging disease. Grant recipients will be awarded one-time grants up to $100,000. The Gastric Cancer Foundation has prioritized early-stage seed funding, as it enables researchers to generate preliminary data to submit compelling and competitive applications for larger research g ..read more

More than 750 clinical trials of potential new treatments for gastric cancer are now enrolling patients or are planning to in the near future, according to ClinicalTrials.gov. Participating in a clinical trial can provide early access to cutting-edge treatments—but with so many choices, finding the right trial can be overwhelming. The Gastric Cancer Foundation is here to help. Our clinical trial navigator, launched in 2018, provides both online connections to clinical trials and one-on-one help from skilled navigators who can help match patients to the best trial for them. Working with a navig ..read more

Last year, the Gastric Cancer Foundation awarded two $75,000 grants to researchers probing new targets for treating gastric cancer. Now both are reporting the progress they’ve made thanks to funding from the foundation. One grant went to the lab of Heinz-Josef Lenz, professor of medicine, associate director of clinical science and co-director of the University of Southern California Norris Center for Cancer Drug Development. Lenz’s plan was to study epigenetic forces in gastric cancer, specifically mutations in a gene called KMT2 that are associated with advanced gastric cancer and poor surviv ..read more