September 10, 2010 — Two years after hitting the airwaves with a historic fundraising telecast, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is returning for an encore performance, and will include Francis Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). An impressive line-up of actors, musicians, journalists, and athletes will come together during the 1-hour telecast to build public support and raise money for cutting-edge cancer research. Some of the cast are cancer survivors themselves, such as cyclist Lance Armstrong, and some are people who have lost loved ones to the disease. Actor Michael Douglas, who was recently diagnosed with throat cancer and is currently undergoing treatment, has confirmed that he will be making an appearance on the telecast. "This is an exciting time scientifically, and it is a time where more investments will lead to better outcomes and hope," said Dr. Collins. "Stand Up To Cancer really has put cancer into the spotlight," he told Medscape Medical News,and explained his role in the event. "In terms of fundraising, the NIH is not in a position to be out soliciting public funds in a telethon. I'm here to talk about how important research is in cancer right now, what the promise is, and how there is a whole new landscape of possibilities out there." But Dr. Collins revealed another reason he is excited to be part of the 2010 telecast: "I get to play my guitar with Stevie Wonder!" He is an accomplished singer and guitar player and will join the other musicians onstage. "They invited me to bring my guitar along and be part of the musical finale," he said. "So I'm glad to be part of the cancer version of We are the World." Since it was launched in May 2008, SU2C has raised more than $100 million for translational cancer research. The highlight of the initiative was a nationally televised fundraising event that was held almost exactly 2 years ago, for which ABC, CBS, and NBC simultaneously donated an hour of commercial-free air time. It was broadcast in over 170 countries and featured more than 100 celebrities. This year's event will have an even wider reach. The live production will not only be picked up by the major networks, it will also shown on Fox and more than a dozen cable stations. The broadcast will air in 195 countries, as well as on the Armed Forces Network. After the success of the 2008 telecast, it didn't take much coaxing to decide to put together another event. "We want to raise more money and raise more awareness," said SU2C cofounder Lisa Paulsen, president and CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. "We want to continue putting additional resources into translational research in order to bring new treatments to patients as quickly as possible." Ms. Paulsen, who lost both of her parents to cancer, pointed out that "just about everyone we know has been touched by cancer in some way or another." "We all work in the media and felt that we could use the media bully pulpit to raise awareness," she said in an interview. "We were thrilled that our colleagues at the networks wanted to do this again, and that they felt that it was an important public service. This time, we have a much wider reach, as our colleagues at Fox and the cable networks have also joined in." All the money raised by SU2C goes directly to research, via a fund administered by its scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research. As previously reported by Medscape Medical News, one of the primary goals of SU2C was to create multi-institutional crossdisciplinary research teams to eliminate barriers to creativity and collaboration. The first 5 "dream teams" were launched in May 2009; each received a 3-year grant, for an overall total of $73.6 million. "We came up with what we hoped would be a new funding model," said Sherry Lansing, founder and current chair of the Sherry Lansing Foundation, a philanthropic organization focused on cancer research, health, and education. "We were frustrated — as cancer advocates and some of us as cancer patients. We saw that the scientists at one hospital didn't talk to the scientists at another hospital. Or the first floor didn't talk to the second floor." The goal was to enhance communication and remove barriers. "So we dreamed up these dream teams," said Ms. Lansing, who is also one of the cofounders of SU2C. "They were created so that the scientific community could collaborate and this would accelerate the research." Many of the scientists were skeptical at first, but now they've really warmed up to the idea of working together, she explained in an interview. "There's just no doubt in our minds that if we can break down these silos and if people can work together, progress can be made." In the first show, it was more about raising money, Ms. Lansing said. "Now we are going to show the public what these teams have accomplished." She emphasized that she doesn't want to overhype the accomplishments, but some "amazing work" has already come out of these collaborative teams. "We're going to report back to the public and let them know where their money went." In addition to the dream teams, Ms. Lansing noted that funding money has gone to young investigators with innovative out-of-the-box ideas. Last December, SU2C announced its second major funding commitment of $9.68 million to 13 young scientists, which will support high-risk, high-reward cancer research. The grants will provide up to $750,000 over a period of 3 years. "I think everybody is watching this as a potential new funding model," she said. "We're not excluding other models — we're not saying that — but this is just something new." "I would say that the experiment is working," Ms. Lansing added. The current dream teams each have a very distinct focus:

• Epigenetic therapy at the forefront of cancer management
• Targeting the PI3K pathways in women's cancers
• An integrated approach to targeting breast cancer molecular subtypes and their resistance phenotype
• Cutting off the fuel supply: a new approach to the treatment of pancreatic cancer
• Bioengineering and clinical applications of circulating tumor cell chip.

One of the primary goals of the second SU2C event is to raise money to start more dream teams. "There is a lot of potential out there," said Dr. Collins. "It's really a matter of funding. I believe that they initially received about 200 applications but only had funding for 5 teams." He pointed out that funding for the NIH is a cause for great concern. Between 2005 and 2007, the National Cancer Institute's budget was cut by $31 million; with the 2008 budget, there was actually a loss in purchasing power from 2004. "We are now in a place where the economy is still struggling and the money available for medical research has been eroded by inflation over the past 6 or 7 years," said Dr. Collins. "Now that the Recovery Act dollars are expended, or will be by October 1, we're slipping back into a place where we are spending less on medical research than we did in 2002." The current administration has made medical and scientific research a high priority; in the coming budget, it has put forth a proposal for an extra billion dollars for the NIH. "But that just barely keeps up with what inflation takes away," said Dr. Collins. There is no shortage of ideas and no shortage of talent, he emphasized. "The NIH is doing its best to keep encouraging innovation, but when we get to the point where less than 1 in 5 grants that are sent to NIH get funded, then any source of support for research that can be identified is welcome." That includes Stand Up To Cancer. "We have to keep this engine of discovery open," he said.

Join Kcancer and #StandUp2Cancer on September 10 at 8pm ET. www.su2c.org