TGen/Scottsdale Healthcare Cancer Patients in Stand Up To Cancer Clinical Trials Participate in 2011 MLB All-Star Game Fantasy Camp, Presented by MasterCard Worldwide

Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Clinical Trials in Scottsdale, Ariz., is enrolling pancreatic cancer patients in two clinical trials

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cancer patients involved in clinical trials conducted by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Scottsdale Healthcare for Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) will participate in the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game Fantasy Camp.

The patients will have opportunities to participate in real drills, practices and workouts. They will be coached by MLB Legends, and participate in a real game at Chase Field, the same field as the 2011 MLB All-Star Game and home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They also will attend the MLB All-Star Weekend activities through a generous gift from MasterCard Worldwide and MLB.

The patients include those participating in two clinical trials at the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Clinical Trials in Scottsdale, Ariz., a partnership between TGen and Scottsdale Healthcare.

Howard Young, an Atlanta businessman and pancreatic cancer survivor, is one of the fantasy camp participants: "I could not be more pleased to participate in the MLB All-Star Game Fantasy Camp presented by MasterCard. This is a way to have some fun and show others who are battling pancreatic cancer that you can beat it and return to an active lifestyle."

SU2C is the charitable initiative generating public awareness and support for groundbreaking research aimed at accelerating new cancer treatments to patients. In 2009, it funded five interdisciplinary, multi-institutional Dream Teams including one focused on developing new techniques to address pancreatic cancer. Daniel Von Hoff, M.D., TGen's Physician-In-Chief and Chief Scientific Officer at the Scottsdale Healthcare Research Institute, leads this Dream Team with Craig Thompson, M.D., President and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

"Stand Up To Cancer's ability to bring together some of the nation's top researchers to focus on developing cutting-edge therapeutics would not be possible without the generous and continuous support of Major League Baseball, a founding donor of SU2C, and MasterCard Worldwide, a newer donor," said Rusty Robertson, SU2C Co-founder.

"All of us at TGen and Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare are thrilled to be part of the 355 scientists and other professionals from 55 institutions collaborating across the country through Stand Up To Cancer. We are excited that our patients will have the opportunity to participate in the MLB All-Star Game Fantasy Camp presented by MasterCard," said Ramesh Ramanathan, M.D., Medical Director of the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center Clinical Trials and a senior researcher at TGen.

Michael Barrett, Ph.D., a TGen researcher involved in the clinical trials, also will join the fantasy camp, held July 10 to 13 in Phoenix. "This is a great opportunity to have some fun, meet the game's most outstanding players and provide the public with a novel way to learn how they can help defeat cancer," said Barrett, Associate Professor in TGen's Clinical Translational Research Division.

Also participating in the fantasy camp are pancreatic cancer patients Roberta Landis of Tampa, Fla., and Gary Filan of Tempe, Ariz.

The pancreas is a banana-shaped gland behind the stomach that secretes enzymes into the upper part of the small intestine to help digest proteins, carbohydrates and fats. It also produces hormones, including insulin, which helps regulate the metabolism of sugars. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, killing more than 35,000 Americans each year.

There are two clinical trials related to the SU2C pancreatic dream team currently underway at Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center.

One is a Phase II trial of GDC-0449, produced by Genentech, a drug that is given in combination with already established therapeutics, Gemcitabine and nab-Paclitaxel, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

The other is a Phase II clinical trial using molecular profiling to identify, based on a patient's tumor DNA, the best course of treatment for pancreatic cancer patients.

Both studies are open and enrolling patients who could benefit from these treatments. For information about participation in clinical trials, please contact Joyce Schaffer, Cancer Care Coordinator for the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare, 10510 N. 92nd Street, Suite 200, Scottsdale, AZ 85258. She can be reached at (480) 323-1339 or (877) 273-3713, or at [email protected].

About the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare
The Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare in Scottsdale, Ariz. offers comprehensive cancer care and research through Phase I clinical trials, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and support services in collaboration with leading scientific researchers and community oncologists. Scottsdale Healthcare is the nonprofit parent organization of the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare, Scottsdale Healthcare Research Institute, Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Medical Center, Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Medical Center and Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak Hospital. For more information, visit www.shc.org.

About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of translational research where investigators are able to unravel the genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. TGen is affiliated with the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For more information, visit: www.tgen.org.

About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) — a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization — raises funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C facilitates collaboration among the best and the brightest in the cancer research community. By galvanizing the entertainment industry, SU2C generates awareness and builds grassroots support for this effort.

To view the recently televised Stand Up To Cancer fundraising special, please visit: www.su2c.org/2010show. For general information, please visit www.su2c.org.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation
Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that serves as the collective philanthropy for the television and film businesses. EIF has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues.

About MasterCard Worldwide
As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Worldwide prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere. MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide. In 2010, $2.7 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network – the fastest payment processing network in the world – MasterCard processes over 23 billion transactions each year and has the capacity to handle 160 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 130 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability. MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R), and Cirrus(R); its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass(TM) and MasterCard inControl(R). MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com. Follow us on Twitter: @mastercardnews.

About Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is the oldest professional sports league in the United States and consists of 30 member clubs in the U.S. and Canada representing the highest level of professional baseball. Under the guidance of its ninth Commissioner, Allan H. (Bud) Selig, MLB has experienced dramatic changes including Interleague Play, the introduction of the Wild Card, a more comprehensive drug-testing program, significant revenue sharing among the clubs and a growth in revenue from $1.2 billion in 1992 to more than $6.5 billion in 2010. The last seven seasons have been the best attended in MLB history with each year, including 2010, eclipsing the 73 million mark. In addition, 14 clubs saw double digit percentage increases in their local television ratings. MLB also continued its "Going Beyond" efforts with a variety of new initiatives including participating in the second Stand Up To Cancer telethon, which has raised nearly $100 million for cancer research, and a partnership with the White House and First Lady Michelle Obama to support Let's Move!, a campaign started by the First Lady with the goal of solving the challenge of childhood obesity. With the recent launch of MLB Network and the continued success of MLB Advanced Media, MLB continues to find innovative ways for its fans to enjoy the National Pastime. For more information on Major League Baseball, visit www.MLB.com.

SOURCE Scottsdale Healthcare