Rich Preyer and Marilyn Jacobs Preyer of Hillsborough, North Carolina donated $1 million to support the latest phase of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Carolina Breast Cancer Study, which is investigating how the causes, treatments, and long-term outcomes of breast cancer differ between Black and white women.
Researchers from UNC Lineberger and UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health launched the Carolina Breast Cancer Study in 1993 to identify a wider range of breast cancer risk factors and to better understand how these risk factors contribute to disparities in breast cancer.
The study focuses on the biological and social determinants of health—from pathology, molecular markers, and genetics on the cellular level, to health care access, the financial burden of care, and quality of life following diagnosis.
The next phase of the study, phase IV, will utilize high-end computing to analyze image data from histopathology and mammograms, enabling scientists to develop a more robust model of disparities and breast cancer outcomes. The researchers will also focus on doubling the number of young women and Black women participating in the research.
The private funds will help researchers expand the study to include more participants and lay the foundation for pursuing additional funding sources going forward.
This gift counts toward the Campaign For Carolina, UNC’s most ambitious fundraising campaign in history, launched in October 2017 with the goal of raising $4.25 billion by December 2022.
The Carolina Breast Cancer Study is funded in part by the University Cancer Research Fund, the NCI’s SPORE in breast cancer, and Susan G. Komen.
