Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among U.S. females and is the second leading cause of cancer- related death among women. The purpose of this proposal is 10 develop a Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP) at Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC). Until now FCCC has not had a formal program in- breast cancer research, however, creating such a research infrastructure that integrates the unique talents and interests of our basic scientists, clinical investigators and behavioral scientists has become a priority of the Center. The criteria for this program is to provide the intellectual environment that will foster an interdisciplinary approach to basic, clinical, prevention and control research that will translate to medical applications aimed at reducing the incidence and mortality due to breast cancer on a local, regional and national level. Over the past eight months investigators from the three scientific divisions at FCCC, Basic Science, Medical Science and Population Science have been meeting to plan the development and organization of the BCRP. From our inception over 30 investigators have demonstrated interest in this group. From these meetings, we learned that the framework already exists for interdisciplinary research activity. In designing the proposed BCRP we have uncovered substantial breast cancer research activity that given the proper internal and external resources will lead to a mature comprehensive interactive BCRP. To accomplish our goal, we propose an infrastructure that has organized investigators from Basic Science, Medical Science and Population Science into three multidisciplinary groups: 1) Genetics/Epidemiology/Prevention/Control; 2) Molecular Biology of Breast Cancer; and 3) Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment. A fourth group of individuals will be responsible for the maintenance and expansion of our breast tissue bank facility. The current activities, future plans and collaborations of each of these groups are described in detail. To promote scientific exchange and foster collaborations that may lead to advances in our understanding of breast cancer biology, we describe our plans for seminars and retreats. Additional components of the development plan include recruitment of new investigators to complement our current skills, a sample of developmental pilot projects which illustrate our potential for interaction and the process by which resources would be allocated to these areas. Furthermore, the leadership and organization of both the Internal and External Advisory Committees is presented. Our ultimate goal is that upon completing the plan outlined that we will have emerged into a formal interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Research Program.
