North Star Cancer Research Foundation

11/04/2025

Where there is a will, there is a way!!! With federal cancer research funding being slashed and delayed, we can still come together and fund the research ourselves.

We are so close to fully funding the next six months of testing ErSO-TFPy in combination with Natural Killer cells on patient-derived metastatic tumor organoids for both ER+ and Triple Negative breast cancers.

ErSO-TFPy has demonstrated unprecedented results in mouse models, eradicating metastatic tumors in the brain, bones, liver and lungs. This new research will test whether lower doses of the drug can be equally effective when used in the presence of a human Natural Killer cell line (NK-92).

To DONATE: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/a-potential-cure-for-metastatic-breast-cancer

We are so grateful for all of the incredibly giving people who have helped us raise $88k so far.

And new GENEROUS donors have committed to matching donations til we get all the way home to $100k!!

So now is the time to donate even just $10! And if you don't have $10 to spare (believe me, I get it), maybe there is a local business you frequent that would be willing to help.

My favorite coffee shop in San Antonio, Crepiccino Cafe, was more than happy to contribute today!! (So if you make it to SABCS, reach out and join me there for a cappuccino.)

This research is for all of us.

Let's get Dr. Shapiro and Dr. Hergenrother the full $100k they need to move forward this month! 100% of your donations will go directly to their labs for this very specific research investigation.

11/01/2025

There's a story which was released by Duke yesterday referencing a pilot cancer vaccine trial from 20 years ago that was targeting HER2. There are CURRENTLY at least 6 HER2 vaccine trials enrolling patients (three in the non-metastatic setting) but there is one for brain mets and one for leptomeningeal disease. The pilot study, referenced below, was conducted on 6 people with HER2+ refractory disease (stages II-IV) though they did not specify here how many people were at each stage.

The link to the data from the original study from 20 years ago plus links to 6 actively recruiting HER2 vaccine trials are posted in the comments below.

Abstract. Project objective: Despite the recent revolution in immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), only modest improvement in overall survival and likely caused by not enough potent cellular immunity among BC patients. Our lab has been focus on inducing cellular immunity against HER2+ BC through vac...

10/28/2025

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO MAKE AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT!!! And DOUBLE IT at the same time!!!

This October we are grassroots fundraising --but this is not just any breast cancer campaign.

Your donations will help accelerate the research of ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING BREAKTRHOUGH DRUGS for metastatic breast cancer we have seen in years; and we desperately needs cures.

$100k will fund 6 months of additional research on ErSO-TFPy (TEQ103), a compound which has shown unprecedented ability to eliminate metastatic breast tumors in the brain, lungs, bones and liver of mice.

Will you please donate and help spread the word???
DONATE AND LEARN MORE HERE: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/a-potential-cure-for-metastatic-breast-cancer

10/28/2025

DONATE: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/a-potential-cure-for-metastatic-breast-cancer

Donating to cancer research is an INVESTMENT in your family’s future, your future, our collective future because no family escapes it. It touches all of us.

EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. US.

…AND for those of us living with metastatic breast cancer RIGHT NOW, funding the research of breakthrough drugs like ErSO-TFPy could still potentially save our lives. There really is no time to waste for federal grants and long grant application cycles when something so promising NEEDS TO BE ACCELERATED.

Sooo SAY it with us: WE ARE WORTH IT!!

This is why North Star Cancer Research Foundation ultimately decided to conduct an immediate grassroots campaign to keep ErSO-TFPy research moving forward.

100% of your donations will go to the labs of Dr. Shaprio and Dr. Hergenrother in November.

NOTHING is guaranteed but we think ErSO-TFPy is one of the best bets out there right now; this fundraising could have the leverage to make a huge impact in MBC treatment in the very near future.Donating

10/27/2025

Researchers in Science have uncovered a surprising role for cholesterol regulation in immune cells.

By controlling T cell signaling, the cholesterol transporter protein Aster-A not only shapes immune responses but also influences how the body absorbs fat—protecting mice from obesity.

Learn more in this Science Perspective: https://scim.ag/3JkCMo0

10/26/2025

"The number one thing I learned was just how important it is to persevere." -Dr. Jim Allison, Father of ipilimumab, 2018 Nobel Prize Winner

New drug development requires the most incredible perseverance. This is why North Star Cancer Research Foundation is backing further academic research of ErSO-TFPy, one of the most promising breakthrough drugs in pre- clinical development for metastatic breast cancer. And with federal research grants being delayed and slashed, WE NEED YOUR HELP to keep pushing the research forward. See the link in our bio to learn more.

10/26/2025

The 2025 medicine laureates identified the immune system’s security guards, regulatory T cells, which prevent immune cells from attacking our own body.

The fundamental knowledge that researchers have gained through the discovery of regulatory T cells and their importance for peripheral immune tolerance, has spurred the development of potential new medical treatments. Mapping of tumours shows that they can attract large numbers of regulatory T cells that protect them from the immune system. Researchers are therefore trying to find ways to dismantle this wall of regulatory T cells, so the immune system can access the tumours.

In autoimmune diseases, researchers are instead trying to promote the formation of more regulatory T cells. In pilot studies, they are giving patients interleukin-2, a substance that makes regulatory T cells thrive. Researchers are also investigating whether interleukin-2 can be used to prevent organs being rejected after transplantation.

Another strategy researchers are testing to slow an overactive immune system is to isolate regulatory T cells from a patient and multiply them in a laboratory. These are then returned to the patient, who will thus have more regulatory T cells in their body. In some cases, researchers also modify the T cells, putting antibodies on their surface that function like an address label. This allows researchers to send these cellular security guards to a transplanted liver or kidney, for example, and protect the organ from being attacked by the immune system.

There are many more examples of how researchers are testing how regulatory T cells can be used to combat diseases. Through their revolutionary discoveries, Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi have provided fundamental knowledge of how the immune system is regulated and kept in check. They have thus conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.

Learn more about this year's medicine prize: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2025/popular-information/

10/26/2025

WE NEED YOUR HELP!! This October, North Star Cancer Research Foundation is grassroots fundraising for the next phase of research of one of the most promising breakthrough drugs in pre-clinical development.

DONATE: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/a-potential-cure-for-metastatic-breast-cancer

We are also enrolled in Benevity for those whose employers have corporate matching programs.

Will you also ask your friends, neighbors, family, colleagues and places of worship to donate and take up collections in their communities? Together, small donations = BIG IMPACT!

1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives and the treatments and side effects go on for decades, if not the rest of their lives. We need better, less toxic treatments and real cures for when the disease becomes metastatic. PLEASE JOIN US!!!

10/25/2025

Immunotherapies are revolutionizing cancer treatment but breast cancers have benefited less than other cancers because breast cancers very frequently don't express the key molecule required for turning on T-cells: MHC I.

ErSO-TFPy (aka TEQ103) gets around this MHC I problem problem by forcing cancer cells to express a different molecule called calreticulin, which then activates Natural Killer cells to eradicate the tumors instead of T-cells. Therefore, ErSO-TFPy may potentially revolutionize metastatic breast cancer (MBC) treatment not just as a cytotoxic drug but as a new type of immunotherapy by itself or in combination with other immunotherapies. More research is needed.

North Star Cancer Research Foundation is raising $100k this October to fund the 6-month study of: treating patient-derived MBC tumor organoids with ErSO-TFPy and Natural Killer cells (cell line NK-92).

100% of your donations will go to this specific study conducted in the labs of the ErSO-TFPy creators: Dr. David Shapiro and Dr. Paul Hergenrother at the University of Illinois.

Please join us in fundraising for this very specific project.

WE NEED YOU to bring this fundraiser all the way home.

DONATE HERE:

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/a-potential-cure-for-metastatic-breast-cancer