SAN DIEGO—
Researchers from UC San Diego and four other UC campuses will spend the next several decades on what could become one of the nation's largest studies on breast cancer, it was reported Wednesday.The La Jolla-based UCSD Moores Cancer Center says the aim is to identify what causes tumors in the breast and unlock new therapies to fight the disease, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The study will entail asking all women who receive breast cancer care at UCSD, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Francisco and UC Davis to join the Athena Breast Health Network. Those who agree will share their blood and tumor biopsy samples with network researchers, according to the newspaper.
They will also periodically fill out questionnaires about their health, lifestyle and other demographics.
As many as 150,000 women are expected to join the network, which is being funded by a $5.3 million grant from the UC system and a $4.8 million grant from the Safeway Foundation, according to the Union-Tribune.
Additional millions of dollars will be needed in the future to keep the network going for several decades, the newspaper reported.
