WASHINGTON – Kidney Cancer Research Alliance (KCCure) President Dena Battle has been elected to the National Cancer Institute’s Renal Task Force to serve as one of two patient advocates on the panel. Her term is effective December 11, 2017 and will run until 2020. Battle joins Deb Maskens, Vice Chair of the International Kidney Cancer Coalition, representing patients in the kidney cancer space.
“I’m honored to serve in this capacity and grateful for the opportunity to advance patient needs when it comes to clinical trial design and prioritization,” said Dena Battle, president of KCCure. “Less than 5 percent of Americans participate in clinical trials and that’s a statistic that needs to change. Trials represent valuable treatment opportunities – especially for patients with rare diseases like kidney cancer. We look forward to working with the Task Force to provide valuable insight from the patient community and hope to increase access and awareness for everyone facing a kidney cancer diagnosis.”
The NCI Renal Task Force is one of three task forces under the Genitourinary Steering Committee (GUSC). The primary focus of the group is to promote the best clinical and translational research for patients with genitourinary cancers by addressing design, prioritization and evaluation of concepts for phase 2 and 3 clinical trials in GU cancers.
KCCure was launched last year by Dena Battle, who lost her husband to kidney cancer and Dr. Hans Hammers, the medical oncologist who treated him. In less than two years, they have raised over a quarter of a million dollars and have funded $100,000 directly to research.
KCCure is a grassroots organization of patients, caregivers, and doctors committed to advancing research in the field of kidney cancer by increasing private funding for basic research, promoting collaboration among stakeholders, and magnifying the voice of patients and caregivers.
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