For Immediate UseApril 18, 2001
Kim Irwin ([email protected]) (310) 206-2805
Kambra McConnel ([email protected]) (310) 206-3769
LUNG CANCER PROGRAM AT UCLA'S JONSSON CANCER CENTER DESIGNATED A SITE OF RESEARCH EXCELLENCE BY THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE; $13.9-MILLION GRANT AWARDED
The lung cancer program at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center has been designated a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) by the National Cancer Institute, making it one of six programs nationwide to receive national recognition and substantial research funding.
The SPORE designation, announced this month, comes with a $13.9-million, five-year grant that recognizes UCLA's lung cancer program as one of the best in the country. The program funds research into the prevention, detection and treatment of lung cancer, which kills more American men and women every year than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined.
SPORE grants promote cooperation among scientists in different disciplines. The goal is to translate basic research from the laboratories into patient care much more quickly and effectively, said Dr. Steven Dubinett, director of the UCLA Lung Cancer Research Program and lead investigator for the SPORE.
UCLA's program will partner scientists specializing in cell signaling, angiogenesis inhibition, immunotherapy and gene therapy with experts in molecular imaging, epidemiology, pathology, biostatistics and patient care.
"The benefit of the SPORE award is that it brings laboratory scientists together with clinical researchers in a highly organized system that moves the best concepts forward for clinical evaluation for patients with lung cancer," said Dubinett, a UCLA Pulmonary and Critical Care specialist. "We are on the threshold of a broad-based effort to understand the biology of lung cancer and develop more effective methods for prevention, diagnosis and treatment."
UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center will have the only lung cancer SPORE in the western United States, Dubinett said. Nationwide, there are six lung cancer SPORES - at UCLA, Johns Hopkins, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Denver, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt universities.
Dr. Judith Gasson, director of the Jonsson Cancer Center, said the SPORE grant is "a superb example of excellence in interdisciplinary research at UCLA."
"Dr. Dubinett and his team of investigators will now be able to progress even more rapidly to develop new and better ways to diagnose and treat lung cancer, which takes such an enormous toll every year," Gasson said.
Although lung cancer kills about 170,000 Americans every year, it receives far less funding than other cancers, said Dr. Robert Strieter, UCLA's Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and one of the project leaders in the lung cancer SPORE.
"This grant gives us a strong foundation for our research and provides for exponential growth and expansion in our lung cancer program at UCLA," said Strieter, who has been studying lung cancer in the lab for more than a decade.
Lung cancer deaths in American men are declining, but death rates for women with lung cancer are climbing, according to a recent report by U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher. Lung cancer is now the top female cancer killer, claiming 27,000 more lives each year than breast cancer.
UCLA's SPORE will attack lung cancer from all sides, working to unravel the genetic mysteries of the disease and to develop new and better ways to detect and treat it. Five key projects will become the core of the program:
* Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang and Dr. Donald Tashkin will focus on the hypothesis that lung cancer is caused by environmental exposures, genetic instability and an individual's inherent susceptibility. Researchers hope to better understand the molecular mechanisms of lung cancer so they can more easily identify those at greatest risk. Their population-based study will examine 1,200 subjects, 600 with lung cancer and 600 without the disease.
* Dr. Denise Aberle, Dr. Jonathan Goldin and researcher Matthew Brown will use a new combination CT and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanner to better characterize suspicious nodules in the lungs. This prototype scanner will help researchers to pinpoint the location of nodules and to better diagnose them without invasive biopsies.
* Researcher Enrique Rozengurt will study a new biologic approach to small cell lung cancer. His research will focus on neuropeptides, identified as potent cellular growth factors in this form of lung cancer. Researchers will try to find a way to block cell signaling pathways that promote tumor growth. A first phase study on humans is anticipated in three years.
* Dubinett, Dr. Raj Batra and researcher Sherven Sharma will study genetic immunotherapies for non-small cell lung cancer. Potent immune-stimulating cells called dendritic cells will be removed from lung cancer tumors, genetically modified and then injected back into the tumor to stimulate an immune response. This is an entirely new approach to treating non-small cell lung cancer. Early phase human trials are expected to begin later this year.
* Strieter and Dr. Lee Rosen will study angiogenesis inhibition in non-small cell lung cancer. Tumor growth in this form of cancer is heavily dependent on angiogenesis, or the generation of an independent blood supply that allows the cancer to feed itself. Researchers will study CXC chemokines, which may play a critical role angiogenesis. They hope to develop new therapies that will inhibit the growth of an independent blood supply, thereby starving the tumors.
UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center will be among the first in the nation to test the new CT-PET scanner, which combines the best existing diagnostic tools to exploit their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. Catching lung cancer early can make a difference in patient outcome, so improved diagnostic tools are vital in the fight against lung cancer, said Aberle, vice chairman of research radiological sciences and chief of thoracic imaging.
Evaluating lung nodules is a challenge, Aberle said. Unless you follow a nodule to assess for growth over time, it's difficult without an invasive and potentially high-risk biopsy to determine whether nodules are cancerous. The accuracy of CT scans and PET scans -- used separately -- is limited. CT scans can be used to evaluate small, pea-sized nodules, but cannot reliably differentiate some benign nodules from cancers. PET scans may be slightly more accurate in differentiating benign and cancerous nodules, but the scans are accurate only for larger nodules, roughly dime-sized or bigger.
"CT scans are much more sensitive in detecting lung nodules, and can tell you 'Yes, you've got one.' But they're not always specific, meaning they cannot always distinguish between the benign and malignant nodules," Aberle said. "The PET scan may better differentiate benign and malignant lesions, provided that the nodules are big enough. We hope that by combining the two technologies and applying sophisticated methods of processing the images, we'll be able to more accurately identify and diagnose small lung nodules."
The SPORE designation will build upon an already successful and nationally recognized lung cancer program, said Figlin, a researcher and physician who will direct the clinical research aspects of the new SPORE along with Dr. Michael Roth.
"The SPORE grant gives UCLA a national presence in the cutting-edge management of clinical research of thoracic malignancies," Figlin said. "We'll be able to have a major impact on a disease that kills the most men and women in this country, to think about a new paradigm in the way we attack lung cancer. This will allow us to have a multi-faceted approach to lung cancer, to find it early when it's more treatable, to understand the biology of lung cancer, and to identify specific genetic therapies. We'll be able to quickly bring observations in the lab to the clinic so we can help more people."
Dubinett added: "We are appreciative of the important support from the NCI SPORE program and UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center. Together, we anticipate making important strides in developing new therapies for lung cancer."
For more information on lung cancer programs available at UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center, call toll-free 888-798-0719.
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For more information about UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center, its people and resources, visit our site on the World Wide Web at http://www.cancer.mednet.ucla.edu. For more information on the NCI's SPORE program, go to http://spores.nci.nih.gov/.
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