The PCF Dan Fogelberg Creativity Award Recipient Announced
The Prostate Cancer Foundation has awarded the Dan Fogelberg Creativity Award in the amount of $100,000 to Dr. David Nanus, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Oncology at Cornell University Medical School at the Cancer Center. The PCF felt that his research program, entitled "PSMA-based Microfluidics-Capture of Circulating Prostate Cancer Cells: Study of Microtubule-driven Androgen Receptor Signaling, Gene Fusion, and Gene Expression Profiles with Correlation to Clinical Response to Taxane Therapy" stood out as entirely original in a set of 341 research awards solicited for the Creativity Award Program.
Dr. Nanus is doing the world's leading work to define the most aggressive forms of prostate cancer (such as the advanced cancer that Dan had, and over 28,000 men battled last year). He and his team are working to:
- Develop tests that will be able to identify prostate cancer a decade or more earlier than conventional tests like the PSA, DRE, and prostate biopsy.
- Perfect a method of harvesting and isolating cancer cells that will result in less damage to the cells, making more cells obtainable for testing, and ensuring those cells can withstand a variety of tests.
- Establish tests that will determine ahead of time which patients will respond to Taxane therapy (a group of chemotherapy drugs).
PSMA-based Microfluidics-Capture of Circulating Prostate Cancer Cells - Rare cell capture from blood is exciting owing to the potential to derive clinical benefit with minimal inconvenience and discomfort to patients. Information derived from rare cells (e.g., fetal cells in mothers or cancer cells in cancer patients) can be used in lieu of information from biopsies and thus improve patient outcomes.
Study of Microtubule-driven Androgen Receptor Signaling - Prostate cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in males in the United States. Standard therapy strives to remove, or block the actions of, androgens. In most cases, this therapy results in a regression of the cancer because most prostate tumors depend on androgens for growth. However, a portion of the cancers eventually relapse, at which point they are termed "androgen refractory" and can no longer be cured by conventional therapy of any type. The precise molecular events that lead from androgen-sensitive prostate cancer to androgen-refractory prostate cancer are, therefore, of great interest.
Gene Fusion, and Gene Expression Profiles with Correlation to Clinical Response to Taxane Therapy - The taxane group is a classification of chemotherapy drugs. Paclitaxel and docetaxel are examples of drugs from the taxane group that are used as a prostate cancer treatment. Chemotherapy drugs from the taxane group attack prostate cancer by causing the microtubules of a cell‚s cytoskeleton to become rigid. The rigidity locks the cytoskeleton in place causing the cell to crumble and die when it tries to divide.
In addition to his wonderful work as a laboratory scientist, Dr. Nanus also sees patients with all types of genitourinary cancers, including prostate cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer and testicular cancer. He has been the Medical Director of the Genitourinary Oncology Program at Weill Cornell since coming from Memorial SLoan-Kettering Cancer Center in 1998, developing a multidisciniplary program for patient care as well as state of the art clinical research.
From Jean Fogelberg:
"We are grateful for his commitment, and so proud to be supporting his research. And I am so grateful to all of you who helped us raise these funds in 2008, by purchasing items at the PCF website and DanFan Provisions, donating to PCF in Dan's name, organizing and attending tribute concerts, downloading "Sometimes A Song", and donating portions of proceeds from various projects.To quote PCF President Dr. Jonathan Simons: "Dan's fans, you, and Dan's living memory are all encapsulated in this Creativity Award." So thank you, all, and give yourselves a well deserved pat on the back." |
