Cancer Research & Treatment Fund, Inc.

10/29/2026

Thank you to everyone who made the 15th Annual Richard T. Silver, MD International Patient Symposium on MPNs a success! This year's event served more patients than ever. Attendees learned everything from the most current ins and outs of MPN drug therapies to the 2026 transplant outlook to how clinical trials work, what we could be doing better, how lifestyle considerations can impact their disease management, what resources are out there for patients facing financial hardship, and so much more.

Special thanks to our Chief Medical Advisor and Symposium Chair, Ghaith Abu-Zeinah.

We are overwhelmed with gratitude for our esteemed speakers, Stephanie Feldman, MD, FACC, FAHA; Alexandra Gomez Arteaga, MD; Hans C. Hasselbalch, MD, PhD; Ronald H. Hoffman, MD, MSH; Nicole Kucine, MD; John Mascarenhas, MD; Ruben Mesa, MD; Naveen Pemmaraju, MD; and Joseph Scandura, MD, PhD; who made this event engaging and enriching for all attendees. Your dedication to this patient community saves lives well beyond the individuals you treat and the research you do.

More highlights are on the way. We can't wait to see everyone again next year!

10/22/2026

PDAC has a five-year survival rate of only 12% and minimal responsiveness to existing therapies. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed treatment in many cancers, they have failed in PDAC. Current treatment failures illustrate how effective the tumor’s microenvironment (TME) is in suppressing or reducing immune system activity.

Over 90% of PDACs harbor activating mutations in KRAS, a gene that provides instructions that regulate cell growth and division. Historically, these mutations were considered biologically equivalent because they occur at the same location. However, accumulating studies indicate that individual KRAS mutations have distinct phenotypes.

Notably, patients with KRASG12R tumors (representing 20% of PDAC cases) demonstrate the most favorable survival among KRAS-mutant patients, suggesting the presence of a biologically distinct tumor subtype. The reason for this clinical observation is undefined.

To investigate this phenomenon, Dr. Siolas’s team developed new KRAS mutant models and performed analyses of patient datasets. Their novel pre-clinical model allowed them to isolate and evaluate KRAS allele-specific effects on the tumor microenvironment. The model compared immune-related mechanisms in KRASG12R tumors and KRASG12D tumors.

The lab’s research shows that single amino acid substitutions in KRAS can affect patient prognosis. Models consistently replicated overall survival patterns seen in patients, where KRASG12R tumors are less aggressive than KRASG12D tumors, replicating the overall survival patterns seen in patients. This body of evidence offers proof-of-concept for mutation-specific therapy using immunotherapy.

CR&T is proud to support the Siolas Lab’s groundbreaking research. Follow us for more pancreatic and gastrointestinal cancer insights!

10/20/2026

Thank you to the sponsors of the 15th Annual Richard T. Silver, MD International Patient Symposium on MPNs!

10/13/2026

Get to know more of our esteemed MPN Symposium speakers! We're excited to welcome this incredible group to the Richard T. Silver, MD Patient Symposium on MPNs on October 28, 2026. Register today at crt.org!

10/08/2026

Our upcoming Richard T. Silver, MD Patient Symposium on MPNs features incredible physician-scientists from across the country. Meet some of them, below! Follow us for more speaker announcements. Head to crt.org for information on their sessions and the full schedule.

10/01/2026

We are thrilled to announce Rebecca Soffer as our 2026 Richard T. Silver, MD Humanitarian Award Winner! We can't wait to celebrate her work at our Annual Cancer Survivors Hall of Fame Dinner.

Rebecca Soffer is cofounder of Modern Loss, a publication and community that has helped shift the cultural conversation around grief and life’s hardest chapters–with candor, humor, and hard-won resilience in place of platitudes. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, TIME, and NBC Think, and her work has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning and NPR, among others. She is also the bestselling author of The Modern Loss Handbook: An Interactive Guide to Moving Through Grief and Building Your Resilience, coauthor of Modern Loss: Candid Conversation About Grief: Beginners Welcome, and writes the Modern Loss Substack newsletter. Rebecca wrote and hosts the student training educational video series for UGrieve, an initiative by the Parmenter Foundation aiming to ensure grieving higher ed students have the resources, understanding, and community they need to thrive.

A Peabody Award-winning former producer for The Colbert Report and an alumna of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Rebecca is an internationally recognized speaker on loss, resilience, empathy, and community building, known for drawing people into an uncomfortable topic with warmth and wit. She has spoken at organizations including Amazon, AMD, Justworks, and the University of Pennsylvania. She has also been honored by Experience Camps; the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS); and Jewish Women International, which named her a 2025 Woman to Watch.

Visit crt.org for more information on our 2026 Cancer Survivors Hall of Fame Dinner and the vital cancer research it supports.

09/29/2026

We are so proud to be part of this incredible group do organizations as we stand together in the fight against blood cancer!

This Blood Cancer Awareness Month, we stand with a worldwide network of partners.

Thank you to Canadian MPN Research Foundation, MPN Advocacy & Education Int'l, MPN Advocates Network, MPN Alliance Australia, Blood Cancer United, Global MPN Scientific Foundation, MPN Education Foundation, MPN Cancer Connection, PV Reporter, Cancer Research & Treatment Fund, Inc., MPN Voice and more!

And thank you to all the patient-led groups, research collaborators, and advocacy allies who are also at the forefront of this united mission.

Together, we are stronger.

Together, we are turning awareness into action and action into progress for MPN patients and families everywhere.

Join the movement and donate today. Your gift fuels collaboration, accelerates discovery, and helps create a brighter future.

Will you share this and help fund MPN research this month? https://www.mpnresearchfoundation.org/donate-to-mpn-research

09/23/2026

We're so proud of the advocacy work our Chief Medical Advisor, Ghaith Abu-Zeinah, MD, engages in across the MPN community! Check out this 30-minute webinar, where he covers MPN challenges, from diagnosis and testing to treatments, expertise, and care options. Informational sessions like this help patients choose empowerment over fear. The video is available below, alongside a full transcript!

Dr. Ghaith Abu-Zeinah will discuss challenges patients may face throughout their MPN journey and communicating concerns with their care team.

09/17/2026

Each year, we honor incredible cancer survivors at our Annual Cancer Survivors Hall of Fame Dinner. We're so excited to announce this year's Cancer Survivor Honoree, Mindie Kaplan!

As a recent Breast Cancer Survivor & Tech Founder, Mindie Kaplan is on a ONE WOMAN CRUSADE to get a million mammograms scheduled by 2028 through a movement she created, Million Mammograms by boldly bearing herself in a uniquely feminine way on national billboards in 40 markets including Times Square, London & Dubai. This global PSA campaign is changing narratives for women around shame, celebrating their femininity & early detection! This year, she will be collaborating with brands and creators as well to amplify the message.

This call to action initiative also challenges women to post their mammogram dates and to invite friends and family to join. Visit millionmammogramchallenge.com to join the movement.

As an extension of her Million Mammogram Challenge, Mindie is also launching a post mastectomy bra line, speaking around the world and hosting a Survivor Celebration during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October.

When she receives the Survivors Award at the Cancer Survivors Hall of Fame Dinner later this year, we will honor her for turning a deeply personal journey into a creative, nationwide effort that is helping countless women get ahead of cancer and reclaim their stories.

Visit crt.org for more information on our 2026 Cancer Survivors Hall of Fame Dinner and the vital cancer research it supports.

09/10/2026

It's MPN Awareness Day, and people living with MPNs want you to know: You don't have to have all the answers. Noticing the quiet days, the low energy, the moments when someone isn't quite themselves, and simply acknowledging it, means more than you might think. Awareness is may not be everything, but it's a meaningful start for people living with MPNs.