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- Posted Tuesday January 31, 2012
National Foundation for Cancer Research funds critical TGen-UA cancer research
Pancreatic cancer targeted by specific therapies with fewer side
effects
PHOENIX, Ariz. - Jan. 31, 2012 - The
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the University
of Arizona (UA) have received a three-year, $600,000 grant to study
targeted cancer therapies from the National Foundation for Cancer
Research (NFCR).
The grant will enable TGen and the UA to continue its NFCR Center
for Targeted Cancer Therapies (NCTCT), created in 2002, which is
dedicated to discovering new therapies to treat pancreatic cancer,
the nation's fourth leading cause of cancer death.
The Center is co-directed by TGen Physician-In-Chief Dr. Daniel
Von Hoff, one of the nation's top oncologists and one of the
world's leading authorities on pancreatic cancer, and by Dr.
Laurence Hurley, a renowned medicinal chemist in the field of drug
design and development and a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and
the Howard Schaeffer Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences in
the College of Pharmacy at UA.
"This NFCR grant should provide renewed hope for pancreatic cancer
patients. This should help us move closer to better treatments and
hopefully a cure for this devastating disease," said Dr. Von Hoff,
who began working on the project when he was Director of the UA's
Arizona Cancer Center in Tucson.
Researchers at NCTCT have developed new therapies that block the
growth of pancreatic cancer cells by interfering with the molecules
that promote pancreatic cancer cells, an approach called targeted
cancer therapy.
"The overall objective of the research is to design and develop
novel antitumor agents that will extend the productive lives of
patients who have cancer," Dr. Hurley said. "Our medicinal
chemistry research depends upon a structure-based approach to drug
design that is intertwined with clinical oncology programs in
cancer therapeutics directed by Dr. Von Hoff."
While traditional chemotherapeutic drugs impair cell division in a
general way, targeted therapies specifically kill cancer cells and
leave normal cells unharmed, resulting in enhanced cancer-killing
power and fewer side effects.
"If we can create the right drug to turn on the right gene to turn
off the cancer, that is going to be a whole new approach to
treating this disease," said NFCR President Franklin C. Salisbury
Jr. "This is 21st Century medicine. Not only do we need to support
this research, but the world needs to know that we are on our way
to curing cancer."
One specific area of research at NCTCT focuses on the development
of agents that target the mutated K-Ras gene, which signals cancer
cells to proliferate, migrate and survive.
"The NFCR grant is enabling us to go after a key gene that is the
most common abnormal gene in pancreatic cancer. We want to target
that gene," Dr. Von Hoff said.
Mutations in the K-Ras gene are found in more than 95 percent of
pancreatic cancers. These mutations cause K-Ras proteins to be
constantly activated. Inhibition of this mutant K-Ras gene should
have profound effects on limiting the growth and survival of
pancreatic cancer cells. Dr. Von Hoff and Dr. Hurley have
identified promising compounds that, in laboratory tests, inhibit
growth of pancreatic cancer cell lines expressing the mutant K-Ras
gene. They hope to advance three new candidate compounds over the
next three years.
Besides targeting the mutant K-Ras gene, the Center also is using
computational methods to extract genomics and pathway information
from cancer cells and match each patient with the most effective
treatment option available.
Nearly 44,000 Americans were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in
2011, and more than 37,000 died last year from this aggressive
disease, which kills most patients within the first year. The
pancreas is a gland behind the stomach that secretes enzymes into
the small intestine to help digestion and produce hormones. There
are no early detection methods available, so the cancer usually is
not found until its advanced stages.
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About the National Foundation for Cancer Research
The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) is a leading
cancer research charity dedicated to funding cancer research and
public education relating to cancer prevention, earlier diagnosis,
better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for cancer. NFCR promotes
and facilitates collaboration among scientists to accelerate the
pace of discovery from bench to bedside. Since 1973, NFCR has
provided over $288 million in support of discovery-oriented cancer
research focused on understanding how and why cells become
cancerous, and on public education relating to cancer prevention,
detection, and treatment. NFCR scientists are discovering cancer's
molecular mysteries and translating these discoveries into
therapies that hold the hope for curing cancer. NFCR is about
Research for a Cure - cures for all types of cancer. For more
information, please visit www.NFCR.org.
