From Dr. Loggie ...

Thanks you for supporting research efforts into pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). This is a difficult and frustrating disease to treat, most especially since our therapeutic options remain relatively limited. We are trying to change that with our ongoing research program. The disease is rare enough that conventional funding sources are difficult to obtain. Fortunately, we have had strong grass roots support from patients and families. We have already been able to broaden our treatment approaches in a relatively short time. We have added people and have additional resources. We fully expect to make continued progress. We also expect that treatments arising from these will impact not just on PMP but also on more common cancers such as colon cancer, breast cancer, and lung cancer. We are looking at the disease from several different points. We have ongoing research into the associated mucin production which is a dramatic clinical manifestation of PMP. A series of experiments looking at mucin suppression using drugs formulated in our laboratory are planned to begin in September. We are looking for possible alterations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) at the molecular level and associated changes in cell signaling which can influence this disease. This has recently been a fruitful avenue of research for our translational research group into a very rare disease, malignant peritoneal mesothelioma.

(A web search on “loggie foster mesothelioma” should turn up recent abstracts.).