OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH FUND INC
FOURTEEN PENNSYLVANIA PLAZA NO 2110, NEW YORK, NY 10122 www.ocrahope.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: THE MISSION OF OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH ALLIANCE (OCRA) IS TO PROMOTE, ADVOCATE FOR AND SUPPORT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AS IT RELATES TO THE CAUSES, PREVENTION, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, AND CURE FOR OVARIAN CANCER; TO PROVIDE EDUCATION ABOUT OVARIAN CANCER; TO PROMOTE, ADVOCATE FOR AND PROVIDE SUPPORTIVE SERVICES TO PERSONS AFFECTED BY OVARIAN CANCER; AND TO FOSTER ALLIANCES TO FURTHER THOSE PURPOSES.

OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH ALLIANCE (OCRA) WAS CREATED IN JANUARY 2016, WHEN OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH FUND (OCRF) AND OVARIAN CANCER NATIONAL ALLIANCE (OCNA) COMBINED FORCES INTO ONE FULL-SPECTRUM ORGANIZATION FOR RESEARCH, FUNDING, ADVOCACY, AND PATIENT SUPPORT.OVARIAN CANCER IS THE DEADLIEST OF ALL GYNECOLOGIC CANCERS AND RANKS FIFTH AS THE CAUSE OF CANCER DEATH IN WOMEN. EACH YEAR THERE WILL BE OVER 22,000 NEW CASES OF OVARIAN CANCER IN THE UNITED STATES, AND APPROXIMATELY 14,000 WOMEN WILL DIE OF THE DISEASE. THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OCRA'S PROGRAMS REFLECT OUR COMMITMENT TO THE OVARIAN CANCER COMMUNITY. SINCE 1998, OCRA HAS AWARDED 341 GRANTS FOR OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH TO PHYSICIANS AND SCIENTISTS AT 79 LEADING MEDICAL CENTERS, WHICH IS AN INVESTMENT TOTALING OVER $95 MILLION. THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF OUR DONORS, OUR INVESTIGATORS ARE WORKING ON MANY FRONTS TO DEFEAT OVARIAN CANCER. BY DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES FOR EARLY DETECTION, AND EXPLORING THE GENETICS THAT INCREASE RISK FOR OVARIAN CANCER, WE HOPE TO SAVE WOMEN'S LIVES BY FINDING THE CANCER EARLY OR STOPPING IT BEFORE IT EVEN STARTS. RESEARCHERS ARE GAINING INSIGHTS INTO THE MANY TYPES OF OVARIAN CANCER AND DETERMINING THE ORIGINS OF THE DISEASE, WHICH MAY LEAD TO MORE EFFECTIVE TESTING AND TREATMENT OPTIONS. FURTHERMORE, THEY ARE IDENTIFYING NEW AND BETTER TREATMENTS TO IMPROVE OVERALL SURVIVAL, PREVENT DRUG RESISTANCE, MINIMIZE SIDE EFFECTS, AND ENHANCE PATIENTS' QUALITY OF LIFE. FINALLY, THEY ARE DECIPHERING HOW AND WHY OVARIAN CANCER SPREADS, AND HOW TO STOP IT.ACCOMPLISHMENTS ACHIEVED AS A RESULT OF OCRA GRANTS INCLUDE:SHOWN THAT RUCAPARIB EXTENDS PROGRESSION FREE SURVIVAL IN OVARIAN CANCER; HELPED EXPLAIN RESISTANCE TO CHEMOTHERAPY; DISCOVERED THAT 18% OF OVARIAN CANCER CASES INVOLVE INHERITED MUTATIONS; EXPLORED THE ROLE OF ESTROGEN IN ANTI-TUMOR IMMUNITY; PINPOINTED TWO GENES THAT TRIGGER OVARIAN CANCER; IDENTIFIED A NEW THERAPEUTIC STRATEGY FOR CLEAR CELL OVARIAN CANCER; SHOWN HOW A PARP/IMMUNE THERAPY COMBO SHOWS PROMISE; DEMONSTRATED HOW GENE THERAPY MAY HELP PATIENTS WITH RECURRENT DISEASE; CONFIRMED GENERIC HEART MEDICATION CAN PROLONG SURVIVAL IN OVARIAN CANCER PATIENTS; SHED LIGHT ON HOW OVARIAN CANCER GROWS; DISCOVERED THAT ANALYZING DATA FROM PAP SMEARS COULD HELP DETECT ENDOMETRIAL AND OVARIAN CANCER; ESTABLISHED THERE IS NO LINK BETWEEN OBESITY AND RISK FOR THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF OVARIAN CANCER; SHOWN THAT FGFR4 IS A PROGNOSTIC MARKER AND THERAPEUTIC TARGET FOR OVARIAN CANCER; FOUND THAT A SUBSET OF IMMUNE CELLS PROMOTE TUMOR GROWTH; CLARIFIED WHICH CELL LINES ARE THE BEST FIT FOR USE IN OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH; DEFINED SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SOME ENDOMETRIAL, BREAST AND OVARIAN CANCERS; EXPLAINED HOW AN EXPERIMENTAL DRUG MAY BE HELPFUL IN FIGHTING PLATINUM-RESISTANT OVARIAN CANCER; IDENTIFIED AREAS OF THE HUMAN GENOME THAT ARE LINKED TO INCREASED RISK FOR OVARIAN CANCER; EVALUATED NEW EXPERIMENTAL MODELS TO ADVANCE OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH; AND REVEALED HOW COMBINING TARGETED AGENTS IS EFFECTIVE.IN 2019, OCRA FUNDED WORK THAT: LOOKED INTO THE ORIGINS OF OVARIAN CANCER BY EXPLORING DEVELOPMENT OF TUMORS IN THE FALLOPIAN TUBE; IDENTIFY SPECIFIC IMMUNE CELL TYPES AND MOLECULAR SIGNALS THAT CAN BE TEMPORARILY DEPLETED OR FUNCTIONALLY INACTIVATED TO PREVENT INJURY-ASSOCIATED CANCER CELL ENGRAFTMENT; ADVANCE THE FIELD PROVIDING A NOVEL 'CELLULAR DYNAMICS' VIEW LINKING CANCER EVOLUTION WITH IMMUNE RESPONSE; PERFORM EXPERIMENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF THESE ADIPOCYTE-DERIVED CAFS (AD-CAFS) IN THE METASTATIC MICROENVIRONMENT AND IDENTIFY PROTEINS THAT ARE IMPORTANT FOR THEIR FUNCTIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH CANCER CELLS; WILL REVOLUTIONIZE THE ANTI-ANGIOGENIC THERAPEUTICS FOR OVARIAN CANCER BY REPLACING CURRENT INTERVENTIONS WITH A LOW-TOXICITY, HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, ANTIBODY-BASED REGIMEN; WILL PROVIDE NOVEL MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS INTO HOW OVARIAN CANCER MANIPULATES THE FUNCTION OF IMMUNE CELLS TO EVADE IMMUNE CONTROL AND WILL ALSO ESTABLISH FIRST-IN-CLASS THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS AIMED AT UNLEASHING DURABLE ANTI-OVARIAN CANCER IMMUNITY; TEST THE ABILITY OF CRIZOTINIB TO IMPROVE THE THERAPEUTIC EFFICACY OF OLAPARIB IN OVARIAN CANCER CELLS IN XENOGRAFTS MODELS AND DEFINE THE MECHANISM(S) BY WHICH THE COMBINATION OF OLAPARIB AND CRIZOTINIB INDUCES AUTOPHAGY AND INCREASES CELL DEATH. EVERY DOLLAR DONATED BRINGS US CLOSER TO A CURE FOR THIS DEVASTATING DISEASE. FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO JOIN US IN OUR FIGHT, PLEASE VISIT OCRA'S WEBSITE AT WWW.OCRAHOPE.ORG.

EACH YEAR, OCRA BRINGS TOGETHER OVARIAN CANCER PATIENTS, SURVIVORS AND CAREGIVERS AT THE OVARIAN CANCER NATIONAL CONFERENCE, A THREE DAY-LONG EVENT FILLED WITH INFORMATIONAL SESSIONS FEATURING EXPERT SPEAKERS, FUN AND COMMUNITY. EACH YEAR, 350+ WOMEN FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY COME TOGETHER FOR THIS EVENT, NOW IN ITS 23RD YEAR. THE SPIRIT OF UNITY AND HOPE IS ALWAYS STRONG THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND, WHERE ATTENDEES MEET NEW FRIENDS AND REUNITE WITH OLD ONES, WHILE ATTENDING SESSIONS THAT PROVIDE UP-TO-DATE ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, AND SURVIVORSHIP. SESSIONS FEATURE TOP OVARIAN CANCER EXPERTS WHO GENEROUSLY GIVE OF THEIR TIME, PRESENTING THE LATEST IN TREATMENTS, RESEARCH, MANAGING RECURRENCE, GENETICS, NUTRITION, CARETAKER AND SUPPORTER CARE, SUPPORT FOR YOUNG WOMEN, ADVOCACY, AND SO MUCH MORE.

BEYOND OUR CONFERENCE, OCRA HAS ADDITIONAL PATIENT EDUCATION AND SUPPORT PROGRAMS, AND ALSO ENGAGES IN ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF WOMEN WITH OVARIAN CANCER. OUR WEBSITE IS A COMPREHENSIVE SOURCE OF EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION, AND THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE YEAR WE HOLD A SERIES OF FREE, EDUCATIONAL WEBINARS ON A RANGE OF TOPICS RELATED TO OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH, TREATMENT, AND SURVIVORSHIP. OCRA'S PATIENT-SUPPORT LINE IS STAFFED BY A LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER DURING BUSINESS HOURS MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY AND IS AVAILABLE TO ANYONE SEEKING INFORMATION, SUPPORT, PATIENT NAVIGATION, OR RESOURCE REFERRALS,( MEDICAL ADVICE IS NOT PROVIDED)OUR WOMAN TO WOMAN PROGRAM IS A PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM FOR WOMEN WITH GYNECOLOGIC CANCER. OCRA OFFERS BOTH A NATIONAL WOMAN TO WOMAN PROGRAM AS WELL AS PROVIDES FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO HELP ORGANIZATIONS START LOCAL WOMAN TO WOMAN PROGRAMS, WHICH ARE NOW AT MORE THAN 35 SITES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IN 2020, OCRA BEGAN OFFERING STAYING CONNECTED, A WEEKLY VIRTUAL ZOOM GROUP FACILITATED BY A LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER, THAT ALLOWS THOSE DIAGNOSED WITH OVARIAN CANCER A WAY TO CONNECT, SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES, AND OFFER SUPPORT. OCRA PARTNERS WITH INSPIRE.COM TO OFFER AN ONLINE SUPPORT COMMUNITY THAT HAS OVER 63,000 MEMBERS WORLD-WIDE. OCRA'S SURVIVORS TEACHING STUDENTS: SAVING WOMEN'S LIVES (STS) PROGRAM TRAINS OVARIAN CANCER SURVIVORS AND CAREGIVERS TO CONDUCT PRESENTATIONS IN MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS TO EDUCATE FUTURE HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS ABOUT OVARIAN CANCER. SURVIVORS SHARE THEIR STORIES OF DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND BEYOND, ALONG WITH FACTS ABOUT THE DISEASE. EACH YEAR, MORE THAN 900 SURVIVOR VOLUNTEERS DELIVER 450 PRESENTATIONS AT 271 SCHOOLS IN 35 STATES (AS WELL AS UK, CANADA AND AUSTRALIA), AND REACH OVER 11,000 MEDICAL, NURSING, AND PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT STUDENTS. THESE PRESENTATIONS HELP ENSURE THAT THE NEXT GENERATION OF HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS CAN IDENTIFY THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF OVARIAN CANCER, HELPING ENSURE A TIMELY DIAGNOSIS.OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH ALLIANCE IS A POWERFUL VOICE FOR EVERYONE TOUCHED BY OVARIAN CANCER, AND IS THE VOICE FOR WOMEN WITH OVARIAN CANCER ON CAPITOL HILL, IN STATEHOUSES AROUND THE COUNTRY AND WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES. EACH YEAR OCRA PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE IN HELPING TO SECURE ABOUT $170 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. IN ADDITION, OUR ADVOCATE LEADER PROGRAM TRAINS MEMBERS OF THE OVARIAN CANCER COMMUNITY TO RAISE AWARENESS THROUGH NEWS ARTICLES AND OUTREACH, DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND FIGHT FOR INCREASED FUNDING FOR OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. THROUGH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS PROGRAM, OCRA ALSO PLAYS A CRITICAL ROLE UNITING THE COMMUNITY. OCRA'S 70+ COMMUNITY PARTNERS ARE OUTSTANDING GRASSROOTS, LOCAL AND NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY WHO SHARE A COMMITMENT TO ERADICATE OVARIAN CANCER THROUGH RESEARCH, ADVOCACY, SUPPORT, EDUCATION AND AWARENESS. THE GOAL OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS INITIATIVE IS TO UNITE THE OVARIAN CANCER COMMUNITY INTO A NATIONAL MOVEMENT, SPEAKING WITH ONE VOICE THROUGH INFORMATION SHARING, STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, AND BEST PRACTICES.

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