Co-sponsored by JEDI Foundation and Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Molecular Science is a Game-Changer for Rare Cancer 

Co-sponsored by Columbia University Irving Medical Center and The Jed Ian Taxel Foundation for Rare Cancer Research, the Rare Cancers: Unmet Medical Needs conference brought attention to the scarce resources and treatment options available to the more than 400,000 Americans diagnosed with a rare cancer each year – and to the major advancements in medical science stemming from the ability to study the genomics of every molecule in tumor tissues. This transformative research is moving from an anatomic (organ based) to molecular understanding of tumors across rare cancers. When the molecular level mechanisms that drive rare cancers are understood, there’s no stopping us. Molecular science can revolutionize the whole field of cancer medicine and bring new hope to rare cancer patients.

“We’re going to do this together. We’re going to win. We have to win.”

Conference Co-Chair Dr. Schwartz introduced conference objectives and suggested outcomes that can accelerate discovery and move rare cancer progress forward, emphasizing “this is something we cannot lose on.”

• Better understanding of rare cancers
• Increase awareness that rare cancers are not “rare”
• Best ways to identify and treat rare cancers
• Opportunities for new drug development
• New paradigms that allow better treatment and cures
• Determine investments to advance the field
• Engage pharmaceutical and investment communities to promote new drug discovery

Foundation Dinner kicked off rare cancer conference

The night before the conference, our foundation dinner gathered important constituencies to move rare cancer research forward: experts from medical science, government, the National Cancer Institute, private philanthropies, and aligned foundations. Speakers included Mark Laab, Founder and Chairman of The Rare Cancer Research Foundation and Founder and Executive Director Norman Scherzer of The Life Raft Group who represent the type of collaborative effort we are committed to help reshape the rare cancer landscape. 

Through collaboration and partnership among communities like those represented here, we can demonstrate that innovation in molecular science can and will change the outlook for rare cancer. We’re committed to help this leap into the future, for Jed’s memory and for the good of mankind.