Adrian Lee, Director and Professor at University of Pittsburgh and Professor at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, shared on LinkedIn:
“Thrilled (and admittedly a little biased, since Steffi is my wife) to see this write-up from the Pitt School of Medicine.
Ten years ago, Steffi Oesterreich started the ILC Symposium because invasive lobular carcinoma, a cancer that makes up 10-15% of all breast cancer diagnoses but gets less than 1% of dedicated research funding, deserved its own spotlight.
This September, the Symposium marked its 10th anniversary in San Francisco, where Steffi delivered the The Dynami Foundation Leigh Pate Memorial keynote lecture, honoring her dear friend Leigh Pate who we lost in 2022 and who co-founder of the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance Inc.
At the same meeting, the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance Inc. (and Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation) awarded Steffi a $500,000 grant to study the biology driving pleomorphic ILC, one of the most aggressive and least understood subtypes of this disease.
I’ve had the privilege of watching (up close) Steffi build this field from a near-afterthought into a global community of researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates who now show up for each other every year.
Getting to do that as her research partner has been one of the honors of my career. Getting to do it as her husband has been one of the honors of my life.
Congratulations, Steffi – so proud of you.
And thank you to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Hillman Cancer Center for recognizing it.”
More thoroughly about Steffi Oesterreich’s accomplishments.
- ILC Remains Underfunded and Difficult to Detect: Accounting for approximately 10–15% of breast cancer diagnoses in the United States, ILC receives less than 1% of dedicated breast cancer research funding. Its distinctive growth pattern, with cancer cells spreading in single-file strands rather than forming easily detectable lumps, makes it difficult to identify through standard mammography and challenging to monitor after metastasis.
- $500,000 Grant to Investigate Aggressive ILC: At the 10th ILC Symposium in San Francisco, the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance awarded $1 million in research funding, with $500,000 supporting Oesterreich’s high-risk, high-reward project. Her research will map genes and gene-expression pathways to identify key biological drivers of pleomorphic ILC, an aggressive subtype associated with high recurrence rates.
- Moving Toward Precision Medicine for ILC: Oesterreich highlighted substantial progress over the past decade, including greater recognition of ILC at breast cancer meetings, dedicated research programs, and the development of clinical trials specifically for patients with this disease. However, tailored detection methods and targeted therapies remain unmet needs, making continued research essential to advancing personalized treatment.
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