Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer contributes to the College of American Pathologists First Comprehensive Guideline for the Assessment of HER2 in Patients with Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma

Advancements in understanding cancer underscore the need for a new guideline to ensure patients receive the best treatment for their cancer type

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Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer

Jan 16, 2017, 07:45 ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) is excited to announce that DDF President and Founder Debbie Zelman took part in the HER2 Gastroesophageal Cancer Evidence-Based Guideline Committee, which resulted from a collaboration between the College of American Pathologists (CAP), the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). These organizations worked together to develop a clinical practice guideline to address appropriate testing of HER2/neu status in patients with gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) cancers.

DDF President and Founder Debbie Zelman with Jaffer A. Ajani, MD, Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Past Chair of the DDF Medical Advisory Board and representative of the American Society of Clinical Oncology

A multi-disciplinary panel of experts developed the guideline, including Angela N. Bartley, MD, FCAP, who served as CAP co-chair along with Mary Kay Washington, MD, PhD (ASCP), Jaffer A. Ajani, MD (ASCO), and DDF President and Founder Debbie Zelman among others.

The new guideline will benefit a wide range of stakeholders including oncologists, pathologists, gastroenterologists, nurses, allied health professionals, hospital or laboratory administrators, quality managers, patient advocacy groups, patients and their families or caregivers.

"With the addition of this guideline, HER2 testing will be the standard of care for patients throughout their cancer journey, which will lead to improved accuracy of this testing, guide the use of HER2-targeted therapies, and provide accurate, personalized care for gastric cancer patients. Patients who are HER2 positive have additional treatment options available to them and opportunity for improved outcomes," said Debbie Zelman. "I am very proud to have been part of this ground-breaking guideline."

Stomach and esophagus cancer are among the most common and deadly cancers globally, and an estimated 43,280 new cases of gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma were diagnosed in the United States in 2016. For those patients that overexpress HER2, the targeted therapy, trastuzumab, has been shown to improve patient survival when added to standard chemotherapy.

About Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer
Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about stomach cancer, advancing funding for research, and providing education and support internationally to patients, families, and caregivers. Debbie's Dream Foundation seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality.

DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable stomach cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. DDF now has a Medical Advisory Board of world renowned doctors and chapters throughout the United States, Canada, and Germany. Considered a "Super Survivor," Debbie is still receiving chemotherapy eight and a half years later and is thrilled to be able to watch her three children grow up. To learn more about DDF, please visit us at www.DebbiesDream.org.

Media Contact:
Brittnay Starks
Communications Coordinator
Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer
(954) 475-1200
[email protected]
www.DebbiesDream.org

SOURCE Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer