Jack Cuzick, Ph.D., Honored With AACR-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research

Newswise — ANAHEIM — The American Association for Cancer Research and the Prevent Cancer Foundation will honor Jack Cuzick, Ph.D., with the 2012 AACR-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research.

The award will be presented at the 11th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 16-19, 2012, in Anaheim, Calif. Cuzick will present his lecture, “Progress in the Prevention of Hormonally Regulated Cancers,” today at 5:30 p.m. PT at the Hilton Anaheim, Calif.

The AACR-Prevent Cancer Foundation Award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention Research is given annually for seminal laboratory, translational, clinical, epidemiological or behavioral science contributions to the field of cancer prevention. Moreover, the research should have had a major impact on the field, and must have stimulated new directions in cancer prevention.

“I am delighted to receive this award in recognition of all those who have been a part of my work over the past decades. This has been an extraordinary period to be in this field, and I have been lucky enough to benefit from working with so many first class researchers from around the world,” said Cuzick, who is the head of the Cancer Research U.K. Center for Cancer Prevention and the John Snow professor of epidemiology at the Wolfson Institute of Preventative Medicine at Queen Mary University of London. He is also president of the International Society for Cancer Prevention.

A statistician, Cuzick was involved initially in trials of cancer treatment. He made a critical observation in 1985 that adjuvant tamoxifen reduced the incidence of second primary breast cancers, and proposed its prophylactic use in women at an increased risk. Four large tamoxifen chemoprevention trials have been completed, which have all confirmed Cuzick’s original observation. Cuzick was the leader of the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study (IBIS-I), which was one of the first definitive trials. The IBIS-I data were used to develop one of the leading breast cancer risk prediction models, and established mammographic density as a modifiable risk biomarker. He also published a meta-analysis of the randomized tamoxifen prevention trials, which further confirmed that the drug could reduce estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer by about 50 percent, and quantified the adverse events associated with tamoxifen.

In addition, Cuzick has worked toward cancer screening for cervical, colorectal and prostate cancers. He was a leading proponent of human papillomavirus screening, demonstrated the efficacy of endoscopic screening for colorectal cancer and was critically involved in assembling the largest cohort of men with localized prostate cancer who are managed by watchful waiting.

Most recently, Cuzick has been working with several other researchers to obtain funding for a large international trial to examine the roles of metformin, bisphosphonates and extended use of aromatase inhibitors against the recurrence and new tumors in women who are long-term survivors of large or node-positive, estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.

Cuzick received his undergraduate degree from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, Calif., and his doctorate from Claremont Graduate University. He worked at Columbia University in New York, N.Y., and the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom, and is a member of the Cancer Research U.K. Scientific Advisory Board. Cuzick’s other honors include the Biomedicine Prize for the best paper in a cancer journal in 1988, the EUROGIN award for distinguished service to cervical cancer in 2006 and the Harvey Mudd College Outstanding Alumni Award in 2010. In addition, he is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in London and an elected fellow of the U.K.’s Academy of Medical Sciences.

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About the American Association for Cancer ResearchFounded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 17,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the scientific partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of team science and individual grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.

For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.

About the Prevent Cancer FoundationThe mission of the Prevent Cancer Foundation is to save lives through cancer prevention and early detection. Founded in 1985, the Foundation has provided more than $130 million in support of cancer prevention and early detection research, education, advocacy and community outreach nationwide. For more information, please visit www.preventcancer.org.