The Farrah Fawcett Foundation has joined Stand Up to Cancer and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) to form a research team dedicated to researching HPV-related cancers, the organizations announced at a press event in San Diego on Monday.

The event was part of the AACR Annual Meeting, held in San Diego April 5-9. The HPV and Anal Cancer Foundation is supporting the effort to develop new immune therapies for HPV-associated by giving additional funding to Stand Up to Cancer.

The grant will provide $1.2 million in funding over three years for the project. The research team aims to develop new vaccines and other immunotherapeutic approaches as treatments for patients with HPV-associated cancers – including anal, cervical, head and neck cancers. Research will focus on patients with HPV-related cancers who relapse after receiving therapy, and for whom few treatment options are available. The team’s goal is to improve outcomes for patients of this population.

“It’s estimated that more than 30,000 HPV-associated cancers occur each year in the United States alone,” said Sherry Lansing, SU2C co-founder, founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation, and chairperson of the Entertainment Industry Foundation Board of Directors.

“Research into new therapies that will benefit patients is urgently needed,” Lansing said.

“By collaborating with other organizations who share our urgency for a cure, we hope to overcome barriers to therapeutic progress and end the suffering caused by HPV, which causes 5 percent of all cancers worldwide,” said Justine Almada, executive director of the HPV and Anal Cancer Foundation.

Fawcett was diagnosed in 2006, and founded the Farrah Fawcett Foundation a year later. She died of anal cancer in 2009 at the age of 62.

“Farrah was committed to the struggle against anal cancer and other forms of cancer,” said Alana Stewart, chief executive officer and president of the Farrah Fawcett Foundation.

“We are very pleased to continue Farrah’s legacy by supporting this important scientific initiative,” Stewart said.

Image via Wikimedia Commons