Last week the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance (LBCA) released its Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report, which features highlights of our accomplishments between July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022. We are proud to share these accomplishments in support of our mission that you have helped us achieve.

Now we want to give you a brief look at what we have been working on since July 2022, the first half of LBCA’s Fiscal Year 2023. We have so much more to do to attain our vision of a world in which lobular breast cancer is found early, treated effectively, and eradicated permanently – and we are on it! Here are highlights of what we have done or are working on as the work supports our LBCA goals:

Relating to our goal to raise awareness and educate about ILC we:

• Developed in collaboration with the Society of Breast Imagers (SBI) a survey of radiologists regarding their uses and concerns about imaging technology and patients with lobular breast cancer. The survey, which will be issued to the thousands of SBI members around the country, also provides information about ILC and and the resources and information available through LBCA. We will also be collaborating on writing up the results for a journal article.
• Presented a poster at the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) sharing the findings from our survey last spring of individuals living with metastatic ILC. Our abstract describing our findings will be published this spring in a special SABCS research issue of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
• With the help of ILC patient advocates, researchers, and collaborators, we spread the word about ILC to a wider audience throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Our important message to raise awareness that breast cancer has types was conveyed in a flyer that we created through the collaborative efforts of several of our Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) members and other ILC researchers and many patient advocates representing both LBCA and 20 sister breast cancer advocacy and cancer research organizations.
• Collaborated with Ali Dixon, ILC survivor and wife of three-time National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel World Champion driver Larry Dixon, to raise awareness about ILC and LBCA at the NHRA US Nationals.

Relating to our goal to be the go-to-source for ILC research/clinical trials and treatment information we:

• Created a page on our website highlighting the ILC-focused research of our Scientific Advisory Board members.
• Recorded and shared an interview with Scientific Advisory Board Chair and Dana Farber Oncologist Dr. Rinath Jeselsohn about her ILC research titled A Distinct Chromatin State Drives Therapeutic Resistance in Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer. The recording is available on our website.

Relating to our goal to support ILC Patient Advocacy we:

• Supported ILC patient advocate attendance this past fall at important breast cancer conferences through the provision of four patient advocate travel scholarships.
• Held four Advocate Chats. Topics included:
  • A Conversation with LBCA Scientific Advisory Board member Matthew Sikora, PhD, Discussing Basic Research and Supporting the Lab;
  • A Conversation with LBCA Scientific Advisory Board member Dr. Megan Kruse About SABCS 2021 Research and Presentation on Pleomorphic vs. Non-pleomorphic ILC;
  • A Conversation with Dr. Nadia Howlader from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surveillance Research Program; and
  • Conducting a Peer-to-Peer Fundraiser.

Relating to our goal of promoting and funding ILC research we:

• Issued solicitations to fund two ILC research grants in partnership with other organizations. We will fund a second invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) research fellowship with our partner AACR and will fund a new imaging research grant in partnership with the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). We expect both ILC research grants to be awarded in the spring.
• Presented the webinar Highlights of the 2022 Joint International ELBCC/Lobsterpot & LBCA Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) Symposium in partnership with the European Lobular Breast Cancer Consortium (ELBCC)/Lobsterpot.

Stay tuned for more news about any of these initiatives that are ongoing and more that we take on through June.