Wednesday, February 27, 2013 - 7A
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
CANCER
From Page 1A
microscopic tumor cells that may
have escaped from the (original)
tumors, so that they don't come
back."
To determine the effectiveness
of Herceptin on HER2-negative
patients, University research-
ers analyzed medical data from
HER2-negative patients who
had been incorrectly diagnosed
as positive for the protein. Those
studies were supposed to be lim-
ited to HER2-positive patients.
However, researchers realized
that several of the patients didn't
actually have the HER2 gene,
and had gotten Herceptin by
mistake.
After analyzing the data from
these women, the researchers
found that the HER2-negative
patients showed similarly favor-
able results to the HER2-postive
patients, contradicting what was
formerly understood about the
drug.
The HER2 protein, formally
known as Human Epidermal
growth factor Receptor-2, is
encoded by the human gene
controlling growth. In HER2-
positive patients, the protein is
over-expressed in breast can-
cer stem cells, leading to tumor
growth.
"In many of these women,
although the assay says they are
HER2-negative, the protein for
the HER2 gene is still expressed
in a small population of cells in
the tumor," Wicha said.
Breast cancer stem cells only
account for 1 to 5 percent of
cancerous cells in an afflicted
individual. Current radiation
treatments, although effective in
destroying many cancerous cells,
are not strong enough to destroy
stem cells, allowing tumors to
regenerate unless the patient has
COLEMAN
From Page 1A
them. And our excellence goes far
beyond basketball and football."
The budget outlines a 2-percent
increase in funds for the state's
" public colleges and universities
contingent on meeting state stan-
dards and limiting tuition hikes.
Additionally, the increase in
higher education allocations will
be included as part of the baseline
funding for budget increases or
* decreases in the years to come.
Coleman and other university
presidents areinvited totestify before
the committee each year after the
governor releases the state's budget.
In the context oflooming budget
decisions, Coleman detailed the
University's efforts to cut costs and
maintain affordable tuition while
expanding the quality of educa-
tional opportunities.
Coleman said for many students,
the cost of attending the Univer-
sity is less than it was four years
ago and the U.S. Department of
Education rated the University
as an institution with one of the
slowest rates of growth in cost of
attendance. She also said the Uni-
versityhas cut $235 million in costs
over the past decade, all while con-
tinuing to recruit the best faculty,
launch new academic initiatives
and uphold a strong commitment
to financial aid.
"Only one (University) bud-
get item is sacrosanct and that
is financial aid; here we are add-
ing dollars," Coleman said. "This
year alone, we invested $137 mil-
constant treatment.
Currently, the researchers are
conducting a one-year clinical
trial to test the use of Herceptin
in HER2-negative patients.
"If we're right, it could save
many thousands of women's
lives," Wicha said.
Until the results of the trial
are established, the researchers
are not recommending use of the
drug on patients who don't have
the protein, despite the encour-
aging indicators.
Last Friday, the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration approved
Kadcyla for treatment on HER2-
positive patients with late stage,
metastatic breast cancer. Kad-
cyla is comprised of Herceptin,
which targets the HER2-positive
cells, and DM1, a compound that
inhibits cell replication.
"It may be even more effective
at knocking out these stem cells
because it basically targets the
chemotherapy right to the stem
cells," Wicha said.
Kadcyla, the fourth FDA-
approved product for the treat-
ment of HER2-postive patients
with late stage breast cancer, is
currently produced by Genen-
tech, a subsidiary of Roche, the
Swiss-based pharmaceutical
company. Despite promising
results in the testing phase,
the drug carries a wide array
of side effects, including pos-
sible liver toxicity, heart toxic-
ity and death, according to the
FDA.
Despite the recent University
findings, a spokesperson for the
FDA wrote in an e-mail that the
recent approval is unrelated to
the research, because Kadcyla
is not currently approved for use
on HER2-negative patients.
However, Wicha said the
University hopes to participate
in a national clinical trial test-
ing Kadcyla on HER2-negaitve
patients later this year.
lion for financial aid. We are very,
very deliberate when targeting
savings on campus - the kind of
precision you might experience in
an advanced course in nano-engi-
neering or microsurgery."
Discussing the significance of
support from alumni donors, Cole-
man said while the administration
has not yet set a goal for the Uni-
versity's next capital campaign, the
effort will focus on financial aid.
"I do not want to lose a single
talented high school senior -
someone who one day may unlock
the mysteries of Alzheimer's or
develop the next-best computer
technology," Coleman said. "I
don't want our best and brightest
to forgo the University of Michi-
gan because of perceived costs."
With four years until the Uni-
versity's bicentennial in 2017,
Coleman said the anniversary
provides an opportunity to reas-
sert the crucial nature of public
higher education in the state's
consciousness.
"The high-growth jobs of the
future - the industries that will
push our state forward - will
require higher education degrees
or specialized training," Coleman
said. "And a university is specifi-
cally designed to challenge young
people, build their skills and
develop critical thinking so they
can address the challenges and
problems of the day."
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald said the remarks also
provided Coleman the opportu-
nity to further strengthen the
relationship between universities
and state legislators.
REPORT
From Page 1A
condition of enrollment - details
rules and procedures University
students must follow. The state-
ment explicitly lays out 21 broad
categories of violations, such as
"illegally possessing or using
alcohol" and "sexually assaulting
another person." Not all viola-
tions are legal offenses.
OSCR investigates, determines
guilt and sentences individuals
who violate all non-academic vio-
lations of the statement, such as
destructionofproperty. OSCRcan
sentence individuals to a variety
of non-legal punishments, such
as suspension from the Univer-
sity and substance abuse classes.
In cases in which police are also
investigating, OSCR's punish-
ments are independent from any
legal consequences that may be
handed down by the criminal jus-
tice system.
In cases of sexual nature, such
as sexual harassment or stalking,
OSCR refers cases to the Univer-
sity's Office of Institutional Equity
for investigation. If guilt is deter-
mined by OIE, an appropriate sen-
tencing is handed down by OSCR.
The report covers violations
between July 1, 2011 and June 30,
2012 and lists all reported viola-
tions of the statement, includ-
ing cases where the student was
eventually found not guilty.
However, University officials
say there is no evidence to indi-
cate an increase of sexual mis-
conduct on campus. While the
timeframe is different - calen-
dar year versus academic year
- there were decreases in both
sexual assaults reported to Uni-
versity Police and the Sexual
Assault and Awareness Center
between 2010 and 2011, accord-
ing to the University's Annual
Security Report.
In April 2011, the U.S. Depart-
ment of Education asked colleges
nationwide to update their sexu-
al misconduct policies to better
comply with Title IX, a federal
statute that forbids sexual dis-
crimination at universities that
receive federal funding.
Under the former sexual mis-
conduct policy, individuals who
reported sex crimes had to file
a formal complaint in order for
OSCR to investigate. The interim
policy, implemented on Aug. 19,
requires the University to inves-
tigate all claims of sexual inis-
conduct it receives. A permanent
policy is expected to be imple-
mented later this calendar year.
The interim policy states that
sexual misconduct allegations
that "become known to the Uni-
versity" must go through the
investigative process.
Currently, staff and faculty
members are encouraged, but not
required, to report sexual mis-
conduct allegations to the Univer-
sity. OSCR Director Jay Wilgus
said this might change in the per-
manent policy, which mayoutline
which employees are responsible
for reporting. Currently, some
managerial positions and security
personnel are already required to
report allegations.
The Sexual Assault Prevention
and Awareness Center, Counsel-
ing and Psychological Services,
and the University's Office of the
Ombuds are the only completely
confidential resources available
for discussing sexual miscon-
duct. Communication to other
University affiliated employ-
ees, such as residential advisors,
could be reported to OSCR.
Of the 38 individuals implicat-
ed in sexual assault violations, six
were found responsible and seven
were found not responsible.
Nineteen cases were not com-
pleted because of a lack of infor-
mation regarding the incidents.
Because of the interim policy,
University officials must now
attempt to investigate any sex-
ual misconduct it learns about
even if it knows very little. Many
times OSCR might learn of pos-
sible sexual misconduct but not
obtain enough information to
have a conclusive outcome, such
as cases in which the survivor
didn't see the attacker's face.
In the remaining six cases,
the accused was a University
employee or an individual unaf-
filiated with the University.
OSCR also handles reports of
sexual harassment. In two of the
24 reported sexual harassment
violations individuals were found
responsible, five were found not
responsible and13 cases were closed
pending additional information.
After it is determined that the
University fulfilled its obliga-
tions per Title IX, the unsolved
cases of sexual misconduct will
remain closed unless new infor-
mation is brought forward.
SAPAC Director Holly Rid-
er-Milkovich said this process
shows that the University takes
sexual misconduct seriously.
"It's important for our commu-
nity to be able to demonstrate that
we take every matter seriously,that
we review them with vigor and
that we hold students accountable
whenever it is appropriate to do
so," Rider-Milkovich said. "That is
an important message to send, and
it does mean that we have a safer
communitybecause of it."
Rider-Milkovich said she
hopes one day every survivor of
sexual assault will feel comfort-
able with coming forward and
getting the help they need.
"Do I think that these num-
bers reflect the full nature of
sexual assault that's happening
on campus? No, I don't think
we're there yet. I think that the
numbers would be much higher,"
Rider-Milkovich said. "A goal for
us to strive towards is for every
person who experiences sexual
misconduct on our campus to feel
the safety and the support from
the community to be able to bring
forward these matters and seek
justice, but we're not there yet."
There was a threefold increase
in the number of reported viola-
tions concerning stealing, van-
dalizing or destroying property
- from nine cases to 21 - and the
number of reported stalking cases
increased from three to nine.OSCR
reported nine violent offenses that
were of non-sexual nature.
Almost 75 percent of violations
reported to OSCR were alcohol or
drug-related. In addition to these
common violations, students
were investigated for several
other infractions, including com-
puter violations, tampering with
fire equipment and identity theft.
There were 38 possible state-
ment violations of sexual assault
reported to OSCR - compared
to two in the prior academic year
- and 24 reported statement
violations of sexual harassment,
compared to one violation in the
prior academic year.
In contrast to the sexual
assaults and harassment, more
than 95 percent of those accused
in alcohol related cases were
found guilty. Wilgus said this
might have to do with the sever-
ity of the accusations and the
vast majority of those accused of
alcohol violations immediately
accept responsibility.
Possible punishments include
an educational workshop on
alcohol, a reflective essay, a no-
contact order and even full expul-
sion from the University. During
the 2011 to 2012 academic year,
only four students were suspend-
ed for a semester or longer, but
none were expelled. Out of the
764 punishments handed down
that year, the vast majority were
classes, educational projects and
"tasks designed to benefit the
community." There were 73 disci-
plinary probation andsix cases of
restitution for damage or injury.
Wilgus said OSCR strives to
ensure that the punishment meets
the statement violation severity
and that because some of the vio-
lations are broad, punishments
can vary widely. OSCR did not
release the breakdown of punish-
ments for specific violations.
RESEARCH
From Page 1A
lyst behind the change. Hold-
ren noted that it also reflects
input from the scientific and
publishing community.
University researchers will
not have to make a major tran-
sition to accommodate the
new policy, as journal publish-
ers will shoulder the majority
of "hiccups" in transitioning
to the new system, Dean of
Libraries Paul Courant said.
"The worst thing in the
world is when there's a new
requirement and nobody
knows how to fulfill it," Cou-
rant said. "(The new require-
ment) quite quickly becomes
a routine. They grumble about
it for a little while, then they
figure out how to do it, and life
goes on."
Publishers will have to
determine what format to
transfer the works into, who
will be in charge of publicizing
the research and other admin-
istrative questions. Courant
expects costs would be mini-
mal.
In 2008, the National Insti-
tute of Health mandated that
all research it funds be accessed
publicly on PubMed Central, its
digital archive. Jane Blumen-
thal, director of the Taubman
Health Sciences Library, said
researchers became comfort-
able with the process of depos-
iting their papers into PubMed
within a year.
She said the NIH Public
Access Policy had no major
issues; it simply had to be
adopted by researchers. She
also predicts the second policy
change in publicizing will be
more efficiently implemented.
"It's going to be easier and
go smoother because they
will learn from the experi-
ences NIH had," Blumenthal
said. "They see how NIH did
it and they're not starting from
scratch."
Courant said this policy is a
step forward for open educa-
tion.
"Many people who are not
attached to universities have
really no access at all to the
quite remarkable work done
here and hundreds of other
places," Courant said. "Now
they will."
"I wouldn't describe it as
a burden," Blumenthal said.
"It's not as onerous as prepar-
ing a journal and submitting it
for publication. This is just one
extra step on the end of that."
Stephen Forrest, the Uni-
versity's vice president for
research, said requiring that
research be released to the
public was a natural move.
"(The public) gets the infor-
mation sooner, free of charge
and, after all, they have paid
for it."
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