This fund has been established in memory of Elizabeth Freitag Dranoff. An adored daughter, mother, sister, and friend, who after a yearlong battle with this rare cancer, passed away peacefully June 16, 2020. Liz handled her illness with bravery and dignity, and in that spirit, we aim to apply that same fortitude towards curing the aggressive illness of Angiosarcoma.

Our mission is to directly fund and advance the research of Dr. William D. Tap, and his team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, with the goal of supporting transformational advances in treatment, as well as an eventual cure for this rare condition.

Donations to the Elizabeth Freitag Dranoff Memorial Fund for Angiosarcoma support a Restricted Fund for the sole purpose of advancing the research of Dr. Tap and his team. To learn more about his approach visit: https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/doctors/william-tap.

Your contributions have already spurred exceptional progress made by MSK under the direction of William Tap, MD, Chief of the Sarcoma Medical Oncology Service. I share their exciting news:

A Role for Immunotherapy  

Immunotherapy, which uses a person’s own immune system to attack cancer cells, has been successful across a range of cancers, but data on outcomes when used for angiosarcoma are limited. Recent studies are expanding the knowledge base and reporting clinical trial results that affirm angiosarcomas can respond to immunotherapy.

A study of a small group of patients treated with immune checkpoint blockade, a type of immunotherapy, revealed that angiosarcomas can respond to immunotherapy, some dramatically so. Importantly, the research team noted that factors like tumor location and certain genetic mutations increased or decreased the likelihood of response to immunotherapy. Analyses of blood and tissue samples collected during these trials yield valuable information about the composition and function of immune cells within angiosarcoma tumors. Researchers hope to use these details to identify predictive biomarkers, which are features that help indicate the tumors best suited to treatment with immunotherapy.   This research is ongoing as our donations are allowing for more patients to receive immunotherapy on clinical trials. In addition, MSK is leading efforts to bring together the sarcoma community to better understand how to properly use immunotherapy in angiosarcoma.

Linking Genomics and Prognosis 

Some angiosarcomas develop following radiation therapy for other cancers. Most commonly, radiation-associated angiosarcoma (RT-AS) occurs after treatment for breast cancer. Patients with these rare tumors have a poor prognosis, and in a recent paper, Cristina Antonescu, MD, Director of Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology, and collaborators describe one possible explanation. Most RT-AS tumors carry a genetic hallmark: excess copies of a gene known as MYC, which helps regulate cell proliferation and cell death. However, a small percentage of tumors lack this trait. The researchers assessed a large group of RT-AS tumors without excess MYC and confirmed that those patients had a better prognosis. More research is needed to determine whether this finding can help guide treatment. Studies using a new laboratory model of RT-AS developed at MSK are beginning to shed light on this area, as well as help researchers understand how these tumors develop and screen potential therapeutics.  

For more information about the Elizabeth Freitag Dranoff Memorial Fund for Angiosarcoma, or if you prefer to donate by check, please contact Stephanie Sepe at MSK via email at sepes@mskcc.org.