Chen-Huang Center for EGFR Mutant Lung Cancers Giving Page's Fundraising Page

Established at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in January 2020 through the generosity of Winston Chen, PhD, and his wife, Phyllis Huang, the Chen-Huang Center for EGFR Mutant Lung Cancers will advance care and research through the seamless integration of preclinical, translational, and clinical research, including:

• New and novel clinical trials for patients with EGFR mutant lung cancers
• Translational studies of EGFR mutant lung cancers to ultimately help refine therapeutic approaches for patients
• Discovery studies that focus on the generation of research
• Education, training, and knowledge exchange opportunities for clinicians, researchers, and trainees from the U.S. and around the world focused on EGFR mutant lung cancers.

Pasi Jänne, MD, PhD is the director of the Chen-Huang Center, the director of the Carole M. and Philip L. Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology, and director of the Robert and Renée Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science at Dana-Farber.

More than 200,000 people in the U.S. and more than one million worldwide were diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019.  Lung cancer remains the most common cause of cancer-related deaths for both men and women in the U.S.  EGFR mutations are found in 15 percent of patients in the U.S. and European Union, and 50 percent of lung cancer patients in Asia.

Dr. Jänne, and other investigators at Dana-Farber, discovered that a subset of lung cancers exhibited mutations in the EGFR gene in 2004.  These mutations were predictive of the clinical efficacy of EGFR kinase inhibitors.  This discovery was one of the first examples of precision medicine for lung cancer and helped catalyze the entire field of precision medicine for patients with lung cancer.

Following the discovery, Dana-Farber was the first center in the United States to begin routine clinical testing for EGFR mutations, which is now the standard of care worldwide.  EGFR inhibitors are now used as the initial systemic therapy (instead of chemotherapy) for newly diagnosed patients with advanced EGFR mutant lung cancers.

Dr. Jänne and Dana-Farber extends heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Chen and Ms. Huang for their vision and generosity.  Please consider joining us in our efforts to improve patient outcomes for those diagnosed with an EGFR mutant lung cancer.