The Lung Cancer Research Foundation Announces 2011 Grant Recipients and Scientific Merit Award in Recognition of November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Awards Granted to 20 Researchers in Basic Science, Clinical and Translational Research

NEW YORK,  Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Understanding the genomic structure of lung cancer cells and the mechanisms that trigger their growth is the basis of research underway by Adam Bass, MD, winner of the 2011 Scientific Merit Award who will be celebrated at The Lung Cancer Research Foundation's third annual Lung Cancer Symposium, on November 1st in New York.  Dr. Bass is one of 20 recipients of research grants from the Lung Cancer Research Foundation consistent with its mission to support research to develop better treatments, screening, and prevention of all cancers of the lung.  Each year, lung cancer is responsible for more deaths(i) than breast, colon and prostate deaths combined(
i)  

"Our lab has identified an oncogene that is associated with squamous cell lung cancer," said Dr. Bass, a researcher with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.  "This grant from the Lung Cancer Research Foundation will support our efforts to discover how to influence this gene to hopefully result in more personalized and effective treatments."

The 20 recipients of the 2011 Lung Cancer Research Foundation grant awards were selected from a pool of 87 applications from around the world.  Five of the 2011 awards were for the continuation of previously LCRF supported work that is continuing to show promise, including:

• Esther P. Black, Ph.D., University of Kentucky – investigating how some mutations in adenocarcinomas of the lung predict tendency of cancer cells to metastasize to distant locations;
• Jorge Gomez-Guitterez, Ph.D., University of Louisville – addressing the role of viral transfer in potential elimination of lung cancer cells with fewer adverse effects than traditional approaches;
• Donald Kufe, MD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School – evaluation of  inhibitors to the MUC-1 oncoprotein, seen in treatment resistant patients, as a potential approach to tumor management;
• Ralph Weichselbaum, MD, University of Chicago – targeting the JAK/Stat axis, a common mutation in lung cancer, to improve radio and chemosensitivity of lung cancer, and
• James Welsh, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas –investigating biomarkers as predictors of potential patient response to treatment with radiation or biological therapy.

"The research led by our grant recipients is rich with possibility to benefit patients and clinicians," said Laurie Carson, Founder, Lung Cancer Research Foundation, "Whether it is research to understand biomarkers to predict potential treatment response or studying the development of tools to mitigate the impact of the stigma of a lung cancer diagnosis to outcomes, we are excited by the potential that this research will yield to improve the prognosis for people living with lung cancer."

In addition to the award to Dr. Bass and the extensions of prior funding, the recipients of the 2011 Lung Cancer Research Foundation grants include:

• Christina Addison, Ph.D., Ottawa Hospital Research Institute – exploring co-factors responsible for blocking the effects of EGFR inhibitors in non-responsive lung cancer patients with high levels of EGFR;
• Erica H. Bell, Ph.D., The Ohio State University – studying the relationship between the BRG1 mutation, evident in 20-30 percent of lung cancer cases, and its role in cancer cell growth and response to therapy;
• Jamie Chaft, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – addressing the potential of specific biomarkers in identifying lung cancer patients likely to respond to chemotherapy, similar to work in urologic cancers;
• Ming Chen, Ph.D., Beth Israel Deaconess, Harvard Medical School –studying a gene that appears to suppress lung cancer and how altering it may increase susceptibility to the disease particularly amongst smokers;
• Anthony Faber, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School – investigating inhibitors to the P13Kinase pathway, a central regulator for cancer cell growth, to identify predictors of patient response to therapeutic interventions;
• Sergei Grando, MD, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine – studying the potential of inhibiting nicotine receptors, known to turn some normal cells into lung cancer cells, as one  path toward creating new treatments;
• Xianxin Hua, MD, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania – focusing on targeting a mutation called K-RAS as a means of treating aggressive, treatment resistant tumors;
• Puneeth Iyengar, MD, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center –identifying predictive markers for cachexia, a condition associated with lung cancers and characterized by weight loss, decreased appetite and overall weakness as well as  lower rates of treatment response;
• Humam Kadara, Ph.D., MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas – studying the ETS-2 oncoprotein in lung cancer patients who have never smoked, to determine if this protein can inform different approaches to treatment;
• Carol S. Lutz, Ph.D., University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – focusing on understanding the Cox-2 metabolic pathway in lung cancer cells as a step toward understanding viable treatment opportunities;
• Jamie Ostroff, Ph.D., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – exploring the value of an interventional tool to address the role that stigma, as it relates to a lung cancer diagnosis, impacts patient outcomes;
• Jun Qian, Ph.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center – further exploring the mutation of the 3Q chromosome, associated with increased growth and survival of cancer cells;
• Daniel Saltzman, MD, Ph.D., University of Minnesota – investigating the value of detoxified, salmonella bacteria carriers to deliver  immunotherapy stimulants to eradicate lung cancer cells; and
• David Sher, MD, Ph.D., Rush University Medical Center – investigating the economic and quality of life impact of stereoratic radiation therapy in early stage lung cancer.

About The Lung Cancer Research Foundation:
The Lung Cancer Research Foundation was founded in 2005 by Laurie Carson after years of fundraising on behalf of lung cancer patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The LCRF seeks to help advance lung cancer research and to help those whose lives have been affected by this disease. The mission of LCRF is to support national research studies and activities focused on better treatments, screening, and prevention of lung cancer. For more information about the Lung Cancer Research Foundation, visit: www.lungfund.org.

(i)Center for Disease Control. Lung Cancer Statistics. Retrieved July 27 2011
http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/statistics/index.htm
(ii)National Cancer Institute. Cancer Statistics and Facts. Retrieved Aug 2 2011
http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/lungb.html  

News Media Contacts:
Raquel Erwin
Zeno Group on behalf of the Lung Cancer Research Foundation
(212) 299-8951 or [email protected]

SOURCE Lung Cancer Research Foundation