Lance Armstrong Foundation awards research grant to School of Public Health professor

Dr. Marilie Gammon

CHAPEL HILL — The Lance Armstrong Foundation recently awarded a research grant to Dr. Marilie Gammon of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study the potential correlation between flavonoid intake and breast cancer risk and survival.

While researchers have found obesity at diagnosis to affect the prognosis of breast cancer patients, other non-clinical factors may also be relevant. Gammon will study the impact of non-clinical factors, specifically the fruit and vegetable component flavonoid, on breast cancer survival. Flavonoids have a number of nutritional functions; most act as antioxidants and some have anti-inflammatory properties. Study results may encourage patients to engage in healthy behaviors prior to and following breast cancer diagnosis.

“Recently we demonstrated that breast cancer risk is reduced in relation to fruit and vegetable intake, although the specific agents responsible for the inverse association are not yet clear. Others have postulated that fruits and vegetables could also have beneficial effects on breast cancer survival,” Gammon said.

“The results of this study may help to identify agents that could be used as chemopreventives with an aim of decreasing the incidence of disease, and once diagnosed, increase a patient’s chance of surviving.”

Gammon is a professor of epidemiology and the deputy director of the Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility at UNC’s School of Public Health. She also is member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Gammon’s research grant totaled $144,674. Awarding $3.3 million in new research grants, the LAF is funding 20 research projects this year and increasing its support by more than $1.3 million from last year’s research grants. The LAF funds research in two areas: cancer survivorship and the basic and clinical science of testicular cancer.

Other projects awarded funding include the study of follow-up care for African-American breast cancer survivors, the impact of exercise in lymphoma survivors, the psychological late effects of cancer and the fertility of women following chemotherapy for early breast cancer.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with top-notch institutions and leading investigators of cancer survivorship research like Dr. Gammon,” said Suzanne Kho, associate director of research for the LAF. “Though these scientists are exploring a variety of important topics, they all share a passion for helping people with cancer live strong.”

A group of 40 researchers and diverse cancer experts reviewed 150 grant applications last September.

The LAF was founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong and is located in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.laf.org and www.livestrong.org.

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