PHOENIX, September 8, 2022 — The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, today announced a partnership with actress, singer-songwriter and advocate Lynda Carter Altman to accelerate diagnostics and treatments, including precision medicine approaches, for a deadly and difficult-to-treat form of blood cancer. 

Carter Altman is providing a philanthropic gift to support this work, which honors her late husband, Robert Altman, who passed away last year after his myelofibrosis advanced into secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML), a rare blood cancer for which early detection is critical and there are currently limited treatment options. As a caregiver for her husband, Carter Altman experienced firsthand the unique challenges associated with treating and managing a rare cancer — and the need to better monitor and understand disease progression. 

The experience led her to seek answers and national expertise in precision medicine research, eventually extending her partnership and a gift to TGen and City of Hope to advance diagnostic and treatment options for patients and their families. Carter Altman has also been appointed to the Foundation Board of Directors for TGen.  

“When I lost Robert, I was left with so many questions. I wanted to understand why rare cancers are so difficult to treat, what research or treatment advances were being made to change that and, most importantly, how I could help lessen the challenges for other families facing a rare cancer diagnosis,” said Carter Altman. “I have long appreciated and respected the work of TGen and now City of Hope, and I’m thrilled to be partnering with them to make advances on both the diagnostics and treatment that I believe will change the future of rare cancer diagnoses.” 

Carter Altman’s gift will establish The Robert & Lynda Carter Altman Family Foundation Research Fund. This fund will support TGen and City of Hope’s two-track approach to developing leading-edge diagnostic and treatment technologies for myelofibrosis and its transition into sAML. The first track will fund a diagnostic project at TGen using tools like genomic sequencing to improve early detection and pinpoint disease progression. The second track will fund accelerated therapeutic development at City of Hope with the goal of enabling a first-in-human clinical trial of an investigational new drug to mitigate disease progression. The research will help scientists and physicians better understand a patient’s risk of developing more life-threatening forms of cancer, allowing for earlier intervention with precision medicine — a tailored treatment approach that harnesses genomic insights, clinical expertise and advanced analytics to pioneer personalized treatment and prevention. 

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