Dr George Tseng, Professor in Biostatistics a UPitt, is a critical component of the Pittsburgh ILC Program of Excellence. His studies for testing congruence of ILC models with ILC clinical samples are critical for ILC research. For example, CASCAM (Congruence Analysis and Selection of Cancer Models) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38198519/, helps to identify cell lines most representative for ILC research. He subsequently obtained an R01 grant (MPI with Dr. Adrian Lee) on “Single-cell congruence evaluation and selection of cancer models towards precision medicine”.
We held our first Celebration of Life event for families of patients enrolled in the Hope for OTHERS program, a rapid autopsy initiative designed to advance our understanding of treatment resistance and metastatic disease (described in https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40537829/). The success of the Hope for OTHERS program depends on key team members including Lori Miller, our clinical coordinator; Alex Chang, an MSTP student serving as our research coordinator; and dedicated patient advocates Christine Desmedt, Stephanie Walker, and Lori Livingston. Through the Hope for OTHERS program, we are collaborating with the UPTIDER program at KU Leuven, led by Dr. Christine Desmedt, to improve our understanding of metastatic ILC. A first combined manuscript is under review (Zels et al: Clinical and histopathological characterization of metastatic lobular breast cancer: lessons learned from post-mortem tissue donation programs).
More LBCA meetings happened in which Dr. Steffi Oesterreich was happy to brainstorm with ILC patient advocates on best ways to get ILC to the forefront in research, clinical trials, meetings, education and more. Photo is taken at brainstorming session at Cleveland Clinic, organized by ILC Advocate Susan McDonald. Some of the ideas laid the foundation for the subsequent publication entitled Important “How Researchers, Clinicians and Patient Advocates Can Accelerate Lobular Breast Cancer Research” by Leigh Pate et al.
A breakout session at NWMBCC (hosted by Susan G. Komen Puget Sound) in which Dr. Steffi Oesterreich, Dr. Hannah Linden, and Leigh Pate discuss unique aspects of ILC (and a similar session). LBCA members discuss next steps for the organization, and Leigh Pate received the Beth Caldwell Advocacy and Leadership Award.
We had our first LBCA meeting, and LBCA poster at SABCS in 2017. Many patients with ILC became highly motivated and committed ILC advocates and spent countless hours working with Leigh Pate and Lori Petitti and others to get ILC advocacy off the ground.
Together with Dr. Julia Foldi, Dr. Marija Balic is joining Dr. Adrian Lee’s longstanding efforts on the analysis of cfDNA in mILC, in part through the Apollo program
Dr. Rohit Bhargava and his team identified a distinct breast cancer type called “lobular-like invasive mammary carcinomas” (LLIMCas) that resembles lobular cancers histologically but lacks their characteristic CDH1 gene mutations, instead showing CDH1 promoter methylation. LLIMCas are often underestimated on imaging with frequent positive margins, and thus Dr. Bhargava recommends recognizing them as a separate entity and using preoperative MRI to guide surgical management.
The Pittsburgh ILC Program of Excellence was officially launched on October 15th, 2025, Global Lobular Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Pittsburgh’s ILC researchers, physicians, and patient advocates have formalized their long-standing collaboration into an official program dedicated to improving patient outcomes. This website documents our progress and keeps the research and patient community informed. The launch was planned and executed by a team consisting of Dr. Steffi Oesterreich, Dr. Adrian Lee, Dr. Jagmohan Hooda, Dr. Daniel Brown, Dr. Insa Thale, Hunter Waltermire, and Christopher Merkel.
Dr. Steffi Oesterreich and Dr. Adrian Lee are proud to mentor Dr. Julia Foldi, who arrived at UPMC in 2023 after finishing her breast medical oncology training at Yale. Dr. Foldi starts to focus her work on ILC, and in 2025 she opens a Liquid Biopsy trial for patients with metastatic ILC.