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Stephen J. Forman, M.D., was quoted in a Jan. 29 New York Times article on stem cellbanking services offered by private companiesand any benefits from using them.

On Jan. 30, CW stations KTLA-TV in LosAngeles and KBSB-TV in San Diego aired asegment about a Northridge, Calif., skating rink’s50th anniversary event that will supportThinkCure, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ officialcharity benefiting City of Hope and ChildrensHospital Los Angeles.

The Jan. 25 issue of the Cancer Letter reportedthe appointments of Richard Jove, Ph.D., as direc-tor of Beckman Research Institute and DavidHorne, Ph.D., as chair of the Division ofMolecular Medicine. Comments from Michael A.Friedman, M.D., president and chief executiveofficer, and Arthur Riggs, Ph.D., BeckmanResearch Institute director emeritus, also were included.

City of Hopein the News

Most recently, Kim and his colleagues foundthat cells begin to express high levels of theCXCR4 protein at pancreatic cancer’s begin-nings, when abnormal cells first begin to form alesion. It also is active throughout pancreaticcancer’s process of development and metastasis.

Kim and his colleagues now are studyingCXCR4 in a special mouse model that has thisearly, precursor stage of pancreatic cancer. Inthese mice, a protein called CXCL12 binds toCXCR4 and appears to contribute to the develop-ment of the very early stages of pancreatic cancer.They are treating the mice with a drug that bindsto and blocks the CXCR4 receptor. Once theybetter understand how CXCR4 and the signalingpathways work, they aim to create a new andbetter therapeutic agent targeting CXCR4.

The Susan E. Riley Family Foundation wascreated by the estate of Susan E. Riley, a LosAngeles-area lawyer who died of pancreaticcancer. Kim’s CXCR4 research also has beensupported by the Hirshberg Foundation forPancreatic Cancer Research.

1500 East Duarte RoadDuarte, CA 91010-3000

Monday, Feb. 4Seminar. Direct Inhibition of the Notch Transactivation Complex inT-ALL, James Bradner, Harvard Medical School and Dana-FarberCancer Institute, Boston11 a.m. to noon • Platt 3 Conference RoomInfo: Bonnie Notthoff, ext. 62705

Seminar. Retroviral Regulatory Sequences and Oncogenesis,Karen L. Beemon, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore4 to 5 p.m. • Platt 3 Conference RoomInfo: April Armendariz, ext. 65488

Tuesday, Feb. 5Seminar. Lessons Learned from the Clinical Biology of EsophagealCancer and Looking Ahead, Jaffer A. Ajani, University of Texas,M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston12:30 to 2:30 p.m. • Platt 3 Conference Room Info: Charlie Bassford, ext. 65707

Thursday, Feb. 7Seminar. How Flies Fly, Michael H. Dickinson, Caltech11 a.m. to noon • Graff Library Conference Room Info: Jill Brantley, ext. 68365

Calendar of Events

Deadline for calendar submissions is noon on the Tuesday preceding publication. Three weeks’ advance notice is recommended. Timely submission does not guaranteeitems will be printed. Send calendar items to HopeNews@coh.org, or fax to Lorena Avila, Communications, at 626-930-5363. Submissions must include day, date, time,title, speaker first and last names and affiliation (if applicable), location and contact information (contact name, phone and/or e-mail). J02-13983.HopeNews.PM.01/08.2M

To learn about more City of Hope events, visit www.cityofhope.org/calendar.

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The gloves are offLos Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, left, and Los Angeles Police Department Chief William J. Bratton settle in towatch the 14th annual Fight for Life boxing tournament, which benefited City of Hope.

A capacity crowd of nearly 5,000 spectators watched two dozen professionally trained boxers from the Los AngelesSheriffs Department, Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department duke it out in the Novemberboxing tournament at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. The 2007 competition raised more than $50,000; sinceits inception, Fight for Life has generated nearly $500,000 for research, education and treatment at City of Hope.

Kim: Targets cancer’s beginningsContinued from page 1

Hope News is written and produced by theCommunications Group. Copies are distributed throughout

the City of Hope campus. Permission to reprint articles with attribution is freely given.

Phone: 626-256-4673, ext. 62356Fax: 626-301-8462

E-mail: HopeNews@coh.org

Alicia Di Rado Editor

Steve KirkAssociate Editor

Brenda MaceoSenior Vice President, Communications

Paula Myers Creative Services

Contributors:

Lorena Avila, Laurie Bellman, Carol Chaplin, Carmen R. Gonzalez, Jennifer Healy

Elise Lamar, Chung So, Ryan Vincent

Next Issue: February 11

Fundraising efforts quicken after 2007 successes

by Alicia Di Rado

A City of Hope researcher is zeroing in on akey protein that helps pancreatic cancer growand spread, research that could lead to much-needed drugs against this difficult malignancy— thanks in part to support from the Susan E.Riley Family Foundation.

The foundation has awarded Joseph Kim,M.D., a two-year, $165,000 grant to studyCXCR4 in pancreatic cancer. Growing evidenceindicates that CXCR4 plays a major part in thecancer’s growth from its very beginnings.

More than 37,000 people will be diagnosedwith pancreatic cancer in the United States andmore than 33,000 will die of the disease thisyear, according to the American Cancer Society.

While surgery can successfully treat manyearly cases of pancreatic cancer, most tumors are

discovered at a later stage. And though a newchemotherapy recently was added to the arsenalagainst pancreatic cancer, such therapies havetraditionally only shown modest effects — whichexplains, in part, why pancreatic cancer is thefourth leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.

The disease calls out for better treatments,and Kim is looking for answers. “We know thatcancer development and metastasis involves avariety of factors, but we believe CXCR4 isespecially important in the initial developmentof pancreatic cancer,” said Kim, assistantprofessor in the Division of Surgery.

A few years ago, Kim happened uponCXCR4, a seemingly obscure but intriguingmolecule, during an Internet search. A receptorfound on the surface of cells, CXCR4 isnormally inactive in healthy cells; but he andcolleagues soon discovered that it helps colorec-tal cancer spread. A growing body of researchsince has shown much more.

See Kim page 4

Joseph Kim studies CXCR4 in his Fox-North Building lab.

John Rossi, left, discusses ideas with budding scientists including graduatestudent Daniel Kim and postdoctoral fellow Pritsana Ehomchan. Such teachingmoments will be commonplace in the Cabilly-Riggs Academic Center.

by Jennifer Healy

City of Hope has received a$5 million gift from Orly andShmuel Cabilly, Ph.D., tosupport the new Cabilly-Riggs Academic Center.

The gift will be used tocentralize the GraduateSchool of Biological Sciences.The new Cabilly-RiggsAcademic Center will includededicated space for teachinglaboratories, classrooms andadministrative offices, as wellas a 150-seat auditorium forscientific seminars.

The center will be housedwithin the Arnold and MabelBeckman Center for CancerImmunotherapeutics andTumor Immunology, which isunder construction. Thecenter is named for Shmuel Cabilly andArthur Riggs, Ph.D., director emeritus ofBeckman Research Institute.

In 1981, Riggs and Cabilly, then a postdoctoral fellow in Riggs’ laboratory atCity of Hope, collaborated with scientists atGenentech on a novel method of makingantibodies through recombinant DNAtechnology, the process in which scientists“edit” DNA to form DNA sequences that donot appear in nature. That work led topatents on the production of novel antibodiesand the development of significant cancer-fighting treatments including the drugsHerceptin, Rituxan and Avastin.

Cabilly is the first-named inventor of theCabilly patent, the basis for numerous widelyused drugs produced by the biotechnologyindustry. His wife, Orly, worked as aresearch technician in the laboratory of JohnRossi, Ph.D., now Lidow Family ResearchChair and dean of the graduate school.

“This gift continues the longstanding and collaborative relationship between Dr. Cabilly and City of Hope, which hasenabled scientific advances that have significantly improved the lives of patientswith life-threatening diseases,” said Michael A. Friedman, M.D., president andchief executive officer.

Grant supports key studies in pancreaticcancer mechanisms

Hope NewsF E B R U A R Y 4 , 2 0 0 8

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by Steve Kirk

City of Hope raised more than $122 million in 2007 — surpassing its goal by $15 million — and fundraisingsuccesses have continued to exceed expectations in thenew year.

“The generosity of the donors who have supported usduring this first quarter is extremely encouraging andbodes well for the remainder of the year,” said KathleenKane, executive vice president of development and exter-nal affairs.

Among this year’s early successes is a $5 million giftfrom Orly and Shmuel Cabilly, Ph.D. The Cabilly giftestablishes the Cabilly-Riggs Academic Center, a centralcomponent of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences,

See Fundraising page 3

See Cabilly page 2

Center honors contributions from Cabilly and Riggs

Former City of Hope scientist gives $5 million tosupport new academic center at City of Hope

A W E E K LY P U B L I C AT I O N O F C I T Y O F H O P E

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Supporters such as Pacific Northwest FoodIndustries Circle members Dan Kourkoumelis,left, and Ron McKnight helped boost 2007 fundraising.

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Cabilly: Gift boosts educationContinued from page 1

Apartment provides temporary sanctuary for patients after radiation therapy by Elise Lamar

City of Hope is offering a way station between hospital and home to patients withthyroid cancer who have been treated withradioactive iodine.

Physicians provide radioactive iodine therapyalong with surgery to fight thyroid cancer — atreatment offering patients a five-year survivalrate of 97 percent, according to the American Cancer Society.

However, swallowing radioactive iodine —known as I-131 — leaves patients radioactive fora few days after treatment. To reduce potentialexposure risk to family members and others,City of Hope has established an apartment inHope Village so patients can spend a brief timealone until the radiation has dissipated.

“This is a tremendous opportunity,” saidChuck Pickering, director and chief safety officerof the Occupational Safety & HealthDepartment, who helped start the program. “Iknow of no other hospital in the country thatoffers something similar.”

When Pickering joined City of Hope in 2005,thyroid cancer patients often stayed in the hospi-tal for a few days after radiation treatment eventhough they were not sick, he recalled. “Therewas no reason for most of them to be in a hospi-tal except to isolate them,” he said.

Now that has changed.

A Hope Village apartment is an ideal waystation, Pickering said, because of its “thickconcrete walls that form an effective barrier tostop radiation.” Even better, he said, apartmentswithin a unit are offset, minimizing adjoiningwalls. Renovators installed radiation-blockinglead sheeting on adjoining walls.

In 2007, 10 patients used the apartment as a comfortable place to “cool down” after I-131 treatment.

Because the thyroid gland naturally accumu-lates iodine, radioactive iodine acts as a sort ofmagic bullet targeting cancer cells that maylinger after surgeons remove the gland. After apatient swallows a I-131 capsule, any lingeringthyroid cells absorb radioactivity, while most isexcreted in the urine and, to a lesser extent, influids like sweat and saliva.

About half of the unstable radioisotopedecays within a week, making patients anexposure risk for only a short time. Most gohome after three days.

Patients live alone during their stay. Theyhave a mountain view from a fenced-in patio

Former City of Hope patient and cancer survivor PaulFried plays the flute at the Partnership for Hope event.

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Auxiliaries join forces in Los Angeles eventby Carmen R. Gonzalez

Four longtime Los Angeles-based City of Hope auxiliaries recently collaboratedfor a first-of-its-kind fundraiser: ThePartnership for Hope. Their collective effortsraised $75,000 to benefit cancer research,treatment and education at City of Hope.

Because the groups combined theirstrengths, they attracted 700 guests to theevent at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, assuringstrong support and success.

The Partnership for Hope was hosted inOctober by members of the Dick Salter,Sportsmen’s Club, Louis Gendel and Gift of Life chapters, along with celebrityguests Brittany Murphy, Eric Balfour andCity of Hope’s Star of Hope FlorenceHenderson. Event emcees Marilyn Freeman,co-chair of the Sportsmen’s Club, and BettyGorelick, co-president of the Sportsmen’sClub, along with chapter presidents ShirleyHerreford of the Dick Salter Chapter, JudiGoldstein of the Gift of Life Chapter, RonYoffe of the Louis Gendel Chapter and SteveGorelick of the Sportsmen’s Club, joined thecelebrities to greet and welcome guests.

Highlights included a fashion show, silentand live auctions as well as guest speakerPaul Fried, who was treated for chronicmyelogenous leukemia at City of Hope.

“I want to thank the dedicated chaptermembers who came together and made this event an extraordinary success,” saidAlan Levey, senior vice president of develop-ment. “This event shows the great things our chapters can accomplish when theywork together.”

but cannot leave the area. Friends canvisit an adjacent garden but are advisedto stay about six feet away to avoidradiation exposure. Patients can preparetheir own food or order take-out; a TV/DVD player and Internet connectionhelp pass the time.

Once the patient leaves, a team fromOccupational Safety & Health carefullyinspects the room and collects anycontaminated items before housekeepingprepares the room for the next visitor.

Children with thyroid cancer are alsotreated with I-131, but pediatric patientshave not yet used the apartment.Pickering noted that the two beds in theroom are about six feet apart. “Wecould have a parent and child stay insame room, while keeping the parentsafe. That is something I really like,” he said.

While patients treated with radioactivity onceremained hospitalized, the trend now is to releasethem immediately.

“It is becoming increasingly common to treatthyroid cancer patients with I-131 therapy on anoutpatient basis at multiple hospitals throughoutthe country with no hospitalization or supervisedstay whatsoever,” said Dave Yamauchi, M.D.,director of nuclear medicine.

About 33,550 cases of thyroid cancer werediagnosed in the United States in 2007, accordingto American Cancer Society estimates.

The couple has a rich history with City of Hope.“This gift represents our belief in the impact ofCity of Hope’s research and education programs,”Shmuel Cabilly said. “We believe strongly in givingresearchers the freedom and resources to explorenew scientific avenues, and to pursue innovativeideas to fight life-threatening diseases.”

Riggs, a researcher at City of Hope for morethan 30 years, has developed techniques that haveled to effective therapies for diabetes, cancer andother diseases. His work on products likesynthetic human insulin helped develop a processfor the large-scale manufacturing of proteindrugs, which was a necessary foundation for thegrowth of an emerging biotechnology industry.

“Dr. Cabilly was trained in immunology. I havea long-standing interest in immunology, so it ismost appropriate that the Cabilly-Riggs AcademicCenter is the ground floor of the new Arnold andMabel Beckman Center, which is largely devotedto research in immunology,” said Riggs. “This giftfrom the Cabilly family will support an array ofnew initiatives to improve human welfare throughscientific advances while offering a robust learningenvironment for future generations of scientists.”

Noted Rossi: “This generous gift will have along-lasting impact on our graduate school andthe educational experience of our students byenhancing our ability to integrate clinical andacademic programs.”

The Cabilly-Riggs Academic Center is slated toopen in 2009.

Robert Doyle, left, Jim Dykes and Chuck Pickering examine a HopeVillage room after a thyroid cancer patient’s stay to ensure noradioactivity remains.

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Fundraising: Development staff heads into new year propelled by strong momentum from 2007Continued from page 1

by Elise Lamar

City of Hope researchers were among the more than 50 internationalinvestigators reporting advances againsttype 1 diabetes at the recent RachmielLevine Diabetes and Obesity Symposiumin Newport Beach, Calif.

Two City of Hope investigators —Joyce Niland, Ph.D., the Edward andEstelle Alexander Chair in InformationSciences, and Rama Natarajan, Ph.D.,professor in the Department of Diabetes,Endocrinology & Metabolism — spokeat the eighth annual symposium, heldfrom Jan. 13 to 16. City of Hope and the Leslie and Susan Gonda(Goldschmied) Diabetes and Genetic Research Center hosted the event.

Symposium topics ranged from the biology of insulin-producing cellsdestroyed in type 1 diabetes — known as islets — to improvements inislet cell transplantation.

Surgeons perform islet cell transplantation, in which cells from a donorpancreas are transplanted into patients, at City of Hope. The JuvenileDiabetes Research Foundation has designated the institution as one of its14 official islet cell transplant centers in the United States.

Cells need insulin to produce energy from sugar in the bloodstream;type 1 diabetes occurs when those cells are destroyed and cannot createinsulin. Although insulin injection is still the standard treatment, trans-plantation of healthy insulin-producing cells represents an alternative orsupplement to insulin injection.

Niland discussed national movements in transplantation. She updatedattendees on an umbrella group called the National Islet Cell Resource

Consortium, which monitors distribution ofislets for transplant or research. Nilandreported growing demand for islets anddescribed the organization’s efforts tooptimize and standardize shipping of thefragile tissues to ensure quality.

Islet quality was also a concern of DanielR. Salomon, M.D., of The Scripps ResearchInstitute, who reported on a collaborationwith City of Hope scientist Fouad R.Kandeel, M.D., Ph.D, director of theDepartment of Diabetes, Endocrinology &Metabolism. Salomon and Kandeel haveidentified a gene expression pattern charac-

teristic of healthy islets. Such gene signatures can be used to ensure islets’quality before transplantation.

Topics went beyond transplantation, however. Natarajan, for one,described her search for genomic changes associated with type 1 diabetes.

Natarajan’s group looked for these changes, called histone methyla-tion, in genes from patients’ blood cells. They found that histone methy-lation patterns in genes associated with inflammation differed betweenhealthy people and those with diabetes, suggesting that the changes mayswitch genes on inappropriately.

The symposium is named for the late Rachmiel Levine, M.D., a notablediabetes researcher and City of Hope executive medical director in the ’70s and early ’80s.

Primary supporters for the symposium included the Susan Gonda(Goldschmied) Diabetes and Genetics Research Center, SouthernCalifornia Islet Cell Resources Center and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Scientists report advances against diabetes at Levine symposium

Michael A. Friedman, left, joins Bruce and Kathy Elieff.

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Construction industry leaders build vital support for City of Hopeby Jennifer Healy

The construction industry is not only helpingto build Southern California — it plays a keypart in supporting City of Hope.

Members of the Construction Industry Allianceraised more than $1.8 million for City of Hope’scancer research and treatment programs in 2007.Southern California executives in the grouprecently celebrated the culmination of theirsuccessful year-long fundraising campaign.

The Construction Industry Alliance Spirit ofLife® campaign was led by Bruce Elieff, chairman

and chief executive officer of SunCalCompanies. Elieff was presented with TheSpirit of Life Award, the institution’s topphilanthropic honor, at a gala dinner inAnaheim in October.

“I am honored to be a part of this outstand-ing group whose support of City of Hopedates back to 1974,” said Elieff. “The dedica-tion of City of Hope’s physicians and scientistsmirrors that of our industry members, whoshare the institution’s commitment to advanc-ing research and finding cures for cancer andother serious diseases.”

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which will be located within the Arnold andMabel Beckman Center for CancerImmunotherapeutics and Tumor Immunology. Thegift builds on the critical support to the construc-tion of the center provided by the $5 milliondonation from the Argyros Foundation in 2007.

Another major 2007 gift was $20 million fromthe Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied)Foundation to fund a significant addition to theLeslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Diabetesand Genetic Research Center.

The number of endowed chairs grew to eight in2007 with the addition of the Lester M. and IreneC. Finkelstein Chair in Biology. This $2 milliongift established the chair, now held by Gerd

Pfeifer, Ph.D. Another $3 million from EricLidow and the Lidow Foundation created theLidow Family Research Chair, held by JohnRossi, Ph.D., chair and professor of molecularbiology and dean of the graduate school.

Robert Figlin, M.D., was named as theArthur and Rosalie Kaplan Professor ofMedical Oncology, thanks to the Kaplanfamily, which has supported City of Hope for generations.

During 2007, bequests — donations madethrough wills and trusts — contributed $35 million, a record total. And importantgrants from prominent entities such as theW.M. Keck Foundation, the Kenneth T. andEileen L. Norris Foundation, the VFoundation, Sidell-Kagan Foundation and

STOP CANCER directly boosted scientists’ work.

Online giving also increased significantly. City of Hope raised more than $510,000 in 2007through online donations, including general contri-butions and funds generated through the Cards forHope program. “This figure represents an increaseof nearly 37 percent compared to 2006, which issignificant,” said Diana Keim, senior director ofdevelopment. “This can be largely attributed tochanging attitudes toward online giving. People arebecoming more comfortable conducting financialtransactions over the Internet.”

Kane sees the growing fundraising dollars in2007 and early 2008 as vital to support City of Hope’s strategic plan, which willultimately help patients not only in City of Hope’smedical center but far beyond it.