What We Do
The Paula Takacs Foundation for Sarcoma Research directly funds Levine Cancer Institute's and Levine Children's research and clinical trials in sarcoma, a rare cancer that strikes bones, muscles, fat, tendons, nerves and other connective tissues.
Sarcoma may be diagnosed in both adults and children, representing 1% of adult cancers and 15% of pediatric cancers. Poor patient survival rates result from the severely underfunded nature of this lesser-known disease. In fact, there were NO new drugs for any of the 50 sarcoma subtypes between 1974-2001! That is 28 years! There have been a few new drugs since 2002, but most have not been significantly effective and none have been curative. Thus, the overall 5-year survival rate of 50% has not budged in decades.
The Paula Takacs Foundation raises funds through private donations by individuals and corporations, as well as its annual Sarcoma Stomp Walk/Run. As a direct result of these significant philanthropic efforts, a sarcoma immunotherapy clinical trial opened in 2017 at Levine Cancer Institute and Levine Children's. This novel trial is the first investigator-initiated sarcoma trial initiated at these centers and we are proud to sponsor it!! This important trial will give patients, age 12 an up, a new treatment option. It will also allow these patients to be treated closer to where they live rather than travel to far-away centers. In addition, The Paula Takacs Foundation will be providing funds to conduct blood biopsies of those patients enrolled in this new trial. Levine Cancer Institute researchers will utilize the molecular information learned from the standard tumor tissue biopsies and compare them to the molecular information contained in the circulating tumor DNA found in the blood. Lastly, our foundation funds the genetic profiling of sarcoma tumor samples. This type of research endeavor helps to find genetic mutations, with the hope of impacting future studies and bringing precision medicine to patients in the Carolinas.
To read more about the current Levine Cancer Institute and Levine Children's projects we are currently sponsoring, please visit https://www.paulatakacsfoundation.org/about-us/our-partner/.
Each clinical trial costs $500,000+ to conduct, and therefore private philanthropy is key to our ability to fund current and future research projects. We hope you will join us in this important effort to help children and adults suffering from this rare and deadly cancer. Together we can bring hope and healing to these people in our community and beyond.
The Paula Takacs Foundation for Sarcoma Research is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Donations made to our foundation are tax exempt to the extent allowable by law. Our Federal Tax ID is 27-3366677.
