“Britainy and I were honored to join Horses and Hope to celebrate 15 years of this amazing program,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Horses and Hope is close to my heart because it was created by my mom, Jane Beshear. I am so proud to see her mission to increase access to cancer screenings for Kentucky women being carried out. I want to congratulate everyone at Horses and Hope and celebrate the incredible survivors and warriors who are fighting and beating cancer. Together, we can make a difference in this fight.”

“We are so proud to join Horses and Hope to celebrate 15 years of amazing work on behalf of cancer survivors,” said First Lady Britainy Beshear. “Since Andy’s mom created this program, it has helped countless Kentucky women receive breast cancer screenings and saved lives. I’m so glad this important work will continue.”

Horses and Hope℠ began in 2008 to increase breast cancer awareness, education, screening and treatment referral among Kentucky’s horse industry workers and other special populations. The program has hosted screenings and events honoring cancer survivors across the state in collaboration with the Horses and Hope/UofL Health Brown Cancer Center Screening Van and the Horses and Hope Pink Ford Mustang. Former First Lady Jane Beshear and the at the University of Louisville were instrumental in the program’s launch, along with the Pink Stable, a committee of Kentucky horse owners, riders, trainers, farm owners, jockeys and others.

Operated by the UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center, the Horses and Hope van launched in 2016 has screened more than 17,000 women for breast cancer. Through breast cancer race days at Kentucky racetracks, Horses and Hope has reached more than a million racing fans.

Today, Horses and Hope has been expanded to offer cancer prevention and early detection programs along with screening and treatment referrals for many different cancers through the mobile van. Special events are held throughout the state to honor breast cancer survivors and to raise funds for Horses and Hope, including events at Churchill Downs, Keeneland, Ellis Park, the North American Championship Rodeo and others.

For more information, contact the Kentucky Cancer Program 1-877-326-1134 or email Horses and Hope.

“The disease of cancer used to be terminal,” explained Jason Chesney, director of Brown Cancer Center. “Today, most of our patients are living long lives because of the treatment we offer. It’s a dramatic change.”

The Brown Cancer Center (BCC) first opened in 1981, four years after the Regional Cancer Center Corporation (RCCC) raised nearly $12 million for its construction and operation. At the time,  took care of about 50 patients a day. Today, they care for over 500 patients per day. The number of oncologists has grown from seven in the early 1980s to nearly 80 now. As late as 1999, BCC hosted four clinical trials. In 2022, there are more than 130 open clinical trials. In addition to patient care, more than 65 University of Louisville faculty investigators conduct basic and translational research to find new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

“Certainly, much has evolved in the science and technology of cancer treatment after 40 years, and I’ve enjoyed seeing the depth of talent develop in many specialties of oncology,” said Henry V. Heuser, Jr., an RCCC board member who helped lead this effort alongside several other architects of change, including Lt. Gov. Wilson Wyatt.

The Brown Cancer Center offers dozens of services, including treatment for breast cancer, endocrine cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, lung cancer, bone cancer, skin cancer and more. In 2021, the Brown Cancer Center expanded its services to UofL Health – Medical Center Northeast and UofL Health – Mary & Elizabeth Hospital, further opening up access to treatment for patients.

Forty years ago, the Louisville community came together to ensure local cancer patients did not have to travel to get the best possible cancer treatments. In a state with some of the highest rates of cancer and cancer deaths, Kentuckiana made a considerable investment to create an academic cancer center that would lead the charge in the war on cancer and educate the next generation of oncologists and cancer researchers.

“The Brown Cancer Center has a remarkable legacy but, most importantly, it is positioned to dramatically shape the future,” said Tom Miller, UofL Health CEO. “Of all the cancer teams I’ve worked with across the country, this group of clinicians and researchers is the most dedicated I’ve seen. When a cure for cancer is discovered, and I believe the cure will be discovered here, it will because of the collaborate and compassionate dedication of all those at our Brown Cancer Center.”

Since opening the doors in 1981, the BCC has been the site of significant research breakthroughs and groundbreaking treatments.

Major cancer research discoveries at the Brown Cancer Center include:

• Development of the first anticancer drugs that inhibit cancer cell metabolism
• Discovery and first in world trial of anticancer DNA aptamers (AS1411)
• Creation of the world’s largest nonprofit computer grid in Kentucky High Schools, already used to discover more than 20 new anticancer drugs
• The first clinical trial of cancer metabolism, following the date of glucose at the ATOMIC level
• The discovery of a novel population of multipotent stem cells called Very Small Embryonic-Like (VSELs).
• Development of the first stem cell vaccine to prevent cancer
• Clinical trials of beta-glucans as immune-stimulants in combination with therapeutic monoclonal antibodies

The Brown Cancer Center’s milestones in the clinical arena include:

• 1990: Creation of Kentucky’s first mobile mammography program to reach underserved communities providing access to advanced cancer screenings
• 2002: Dedication of the Molecular Imaging Research Center, housing Kentucky’s first positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanner and a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) suite that serves as a catalyst for advanced cancer research
• 2010: The Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Program became the first in Kentucky to receive full three-year accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.
• 2017: The first melanoma patient undergoes TILs procedure
• 2019: Creation of a Good Manufacturing Practices Facility and the Dunbar CAR T-Cell efforts where the patient’s white blood cells are re-engineered with a chimeric antigen reception (CAR) into the T-cells, multiplied by the millions then infused back into the patient where they bind to an antigen on the cancer cells and destroy them
• 2021: Expanded services to UofL Health – Medical Center Northeast and UofL Health – Mary & Elizabeth Hospital, further opening access to treatment for patients

University of Louisville researchers recently have shown that beta-glucan, a natural carbohydrate, can generate enhanced immune responses to cancer in the pancreas and may lead to improved efficacy of immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer.

Jun Yan, chief of the Division of Immunotherapy in the Department of Surgery at UofL, said one of challenges for pancreatic cancer is that natural immune cells are unable to enter the pancreas to combat the growth of tumors, creating an immune desert.

“These tumors lack quality effector immune cells that can kill them,” Yan said. “In addition, pancreatic cancer has a unique tumor microenvironment that prevents the influx of anti-tumor immune cells.”

In new research published this month in , Anne Geller, an MD/PhD student, and a research team at UofL led by Yan demonstrate that a type of beta-glucan derived from yeast can alter the environment within the pancreas to promote anti-cancer immune cell migration to the site of the cancer. Beta-glucan, a naturally occurring carbohydrate found in plants, bacteria and fungi, is known to induce trained immunity, stimulating an immune response to a specific stimulus, such as pancreatic tumor cells.

Trained immunity is a new concept in the field of immunology and is the idea that innate immune cells possess a form of “memory,” which typically only has been considered to be a feature of adaptive immune cells such as T-cells. Using animal models, Yan and his team found that when they injected particulate beta-glucan into the peritoneal area, it accumulated in the pancreas and promoted anti-cancer immune cell migration to the area. These immune cells were found to have a trained immunity phenotype and effectively inhibited pancreatic cancer growth.

“This research demonstrates that a natural compound can stimulate trained immunity in pancreas,” Yan said.

The researchers also found that beta-glucan-stimulated trained immunity can enhance PD-1 antibody therapy in pancreatic cancer. Anti-PD-1 immunotherapy has been approved to treat many types of cancer including melanoma and lung cancer. However, this therapy has failed in treating pancreatic cancer. This research could be a breakthrough in successfully applying immunotherapy to pancreatic cancer.

“This research has a great potential for clinical translation as it elucidates a strategy for delivering therapeutics directly to the pancreas, identifies a mechanism of enhancing anti-tumor immune responses against pancreatic tumors and provides insight into ways of unleashing the awesome power of immunotherapies against PDAC,” Geller said. “This could be a breakthrough in treating the deadly cancer that has evaded so many other forms of treatment.”

Yan, director of the Immuno-Oncology Program at and study coauthor, and surgical oncologist Robert C.G. Martin II are conducting a clinical trial using beta-glucan in pancreatc cancer patients as a proof-of-concept study.

“This publication demonstrates that a simple yeast-derived beta-glucan supplement has the potential to enhance a patient’s immune system and then respond more effectively to therapies in pancreatic cancer. The concept that patients’ immune systems can be ‘trained’ to see their pancreatic cancer as abnormal or foreign could be a crucial step in enhancing a patient’s overall survival and thus quality of life,” said Martin, professor and director of the UofL Division of Surgical Oncology and a co-author on the study.

According to the , more than 60,000 adults are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S. in 2022 and nearly 50,000 patients will die from the disease. Alex Trebek, long-time host of the game show “Jeopardy!” shared his pancreatic cancer diagnosis and treatment journey beginning in 2019. Trebek died in 2020, just over 18 months after announcing his diagnosis.

“UofL is committed to solving big, global challenges through research,” said Kevin Gardner, UofL’s executive vice president for research and innovation. “This work, leveraging the power of the immune system to better treat pancreatic cancer, could have a big impact in helping people live lives that are not just longer, but healthier and more resilient.”

During the annual day of giving, which occurs during Homecoming week, more than 2,450 donors contributed to the 2021 total of $2,932,603. The number of donors surpassed the initial goal of 2,021 and the previous record of 2,206 donors set in 2019 as alumni, employees, students, friends and organizations gave to their favorite UofL areas where they wanted to make an impact.

“As a national metropolitan research university, the University of Louisville is thrilled that donors from all 50 states support us,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi. “We can’t achieve success without the aid of our donors, and again this year, they have come forward from throughout the United States to fund the programs, projects and initiatives we execute. I thank them, one and all.”

 A highlight among several large gifts was Delta Dental’s commitment of $1.07 million to the UofL School of Dentistry, celebrated by the campaign Oct. 20 at the Health Sciences Center with a live social media segment. Other gifts included $400,000 to the UofL Health Brown Cancer Center from the Thomas Dunbar family, $112,000 to the College of Business from Yum! Brands (parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut) and $100,000 to the College of Arts and Sciences from alumna Monica Pearson ’75. 

The HSC and Belknap Campus each had a special campus headquarters during the fundraising period where students who donated at least $10 could snag a pair of Cardinal socks and where donors could commemorate their giving spirit with a selfie taken against a giant “I Raised Some L” backdrop.

The fundraising site featured more than 560 initiatives, including individual colleges and schools, student scholarships and student-led organizations.

“Once again, our Cardinal Family stepped up to give back to our university and the areas they believe in,” said Jasmine Farrier, vice president of university advancement. “This record-breaking support shows that the University of Louisville is vitally connected to our alumni, the community, commonwealth and beyond.  We are grateful to our alumni, staff and faculty ambassadors who spent countless hours sharing updates about our programs across Belknap and Health Sciences to inspire Cardinals to learn more about student success, research innovation and community engagement at UofL.”

The Raise Some L campaign ran for 1,798 minutes, starting at 6:02 p.m. Oct. 19, in honor of the university’s founding year of 1798.