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- Posted Friday November 6, 2015
TGen will lead international Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Dream Team to tackle deadly pancreatic cancer
Cancer Research UK, Lustgarten Foundation join SU2C in funding $12 million research to improve patient survival; HonorHealth to conduct clinical trials
BOSTON - Nov. 6, 2015 - The Phoenix-based Translational
Genomics Research Institute (TGen) will lead an international
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Dream Team of top cancer researchers in a
$12 million effort to double the survival of patients with
pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the
U.S.
Dr. Daniel D. Von Hoff - TGen Physician-in-Chief and Distinguished
Professor, Chief Scientific Officer at HonorHealth Research
Institute, and Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic - will lead the
Dream Team, which includes nearly two dozen researchers in the U.S.
and United Kingdom.
"Our overarching aim is to develop therapies that greatly improve
a person's survival," Dr. Von Hoff said. "In this project, we will
pursue pancreatic cancer in a different way than ever before. We
will focus on reprogramming the master machinery in cancer cells
that drive tumor growth. Our targets are the complexes of DNA and
proteins known as 'super enhancers' for their ability to affect a
large number of genes."
"We are learning more and more about the complexities of
pancreatic cancer," said Erkut Borazanci, M.D., M.S., clinical
investigator and principal investigator at the HonorHealth Research
Institute, the only clinical trials site in Arizona. "Thanks to
this award by SU2C we will be able to offer novel therapies for
patients with pancreatic cancer."
This is TGen's third SU2C Dream Team, the second focusing on
pancreatic cancer. A third Dream Team led by TGen is investigating
new treatments for melanoma.
The new international SU2C Pancreatic Cancer Dream Team was
announced today during the 2015 International Conference on
Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Boston, sponsored by
the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the National
Cancer Institute, and the European Organisation for Research and
Treatment of Cancer. The AACR is SU2C's scientific partner
and will administer the grant.
Cancer Research U.K. and The Lustgarten Foundation joined SU2C in
selecting the team, following a rigorous process, and providing $12
million in research funding over three years.
Co-leaders of the new Pancreatic Cancer Dream Team are: Ronald M.
Evans, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Gene Expression
Laboratory at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La
Jolla, Calif.; and Gerard I. Evan, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of
the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge,
U.K.
Serving as principal investigators on the team are Christopher
Heeschen, M.D., Ph.D., lead, Centre for Stem Cells in Cancer &
Ageing at the Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of
London, U.K.; David Propper, M.D., a consultant medical oncologist
at Barts Cancer Institute and the London NHS Trust; and Joshua D.
Rabinowitz, M.D., Ph.D., professor of chemistry and integrative
genomics at Princeton University.
Other institutions participating in the project are: St.
Bartholomew's Hospital, University of Pennsylvania, and Moores
Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health. Mayo Clinic in Arizona will
also contribute to the research.
The team also includes two advocates: Suzanne Berenger of England
and Howard Young of the U.S., both of whom are pancreatic cancer
survivors. Young, an Atlanta businessman and a Board Member of the
TGen Foundation, credits TGen and Dr. Von Hoff with saving his
life.
The new Dream Team's research will focus on reprogramming the
biology of cells in pancreatic tumors - both the cancer cells
themselves as well as the surrounding non-cancerous cells upon
which the cancer cells rely for support - so that the tumors can be
stopped.
They have found biological pathways in pancreatic tumors
controlled by areas in the DNA called "super enhancers" (SEs) that
are similar to those in injured tissues where repair and
regenerative mechanisms are essential to restore normal
function. Unlike the normal system of wound healing that has
a shut-off mechanism, in tumors the process remains on, "hijacked"
to constantly drive growth. Another way to look at it is the normal
wound-healing process is hacked to produce the cancer.
Pancreatic cancer has a dismal outlook, with a five-year survival
rate of less than 10 percent, the worst of any cancer. Each year,
it takes the lives of more than 40,000 Americans.
"As devastating as these statistics are, they don't begin to
describe the considerable pain and suffering associated with this
disease," said Dr. Von Hoff. "Our team brings together the very
best experts on both sides of the Atlantic, and we feel confident
that we will soon bring better treatments to the patients that need
our help today."
A major part of the study will be taking drugs that target super
enhancers, as well as combinations of SE drugs with chemotherapies
and immunotherapeutic drugs, into clinical trials within the first
year of the study. Clinical trials are planned in the U.K.,
Pennsylvania, San Diego, and at HonorHealth in Scottsdale.
"Cancer is a like a wound that does not heal," Dr. Von Hoff
said. "We think the control of healing happens through super
enhancers, and in cancer that control mechanism is malfunctioning.
We hope to reboot the super enhancers and send the pancreatic
cancer into durable remission."
In 2009, TGen was selected to lead one of the first SU2C Dream
Teams. It also was supervised by Dr. Von Hoff and also focused
research on pancreatic cancer. That work resulted in a treatment
regimen that has produced some long-term survivors of this
disease.
In 2011, TGen was named to lead a SU2C Dream Team, in association
with the Melanoma Research Alliance, aimed at addressing unmet
needs of melanoma patients. A nationwide set of clinical trials
stemming from this project's research began earlier this
year.
A Joint Scientific Advisory Committee (JSAC) - composed of highly
accomplished researchers and physician-scientists and advocates -
conducted a rapid, interactive and rigorous evaluation of the
applications and recommended the Dream Team announced today.
"Cancer of the pancreas poses some very difficult challenges
because the diagnosis is often made at a late stage, and surgery is
often impossible," said Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Nobel laureate,
institute professor at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative
Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and
chairperson of the JSAC. "The Dream Team will bring new insights
such as inhibition of novel gene control processes to the battle
against this terrible disease."
Serving as vice-chairs of the JSAC were: Richard M. Marais, Ph.D.,
director of the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, where he
also heads the Molecular Oncology Group; and David A. Tuveson,
M.D., Ph.D., director of research for The Lustgarten Foundation and
director of The Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Research
Lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
Cancer Research UK, the largest charitable funder of cancer
research in the world, supports a broad range of research to better
understand, diagnose, prevent and treat all cancers. The
international collaboration between SU2C and Cancer Research UK
launched with a live SU2C telecast on Channel 4 in the United
Kingdom in 2012. Through annual telecasts on Channel 4, the U.K.
SU2C campaign has generated more than $35 million to accelerate
groundbreaking cancer research in the U.K. and abroad. The new
Dream Team is the first supported by the transatlantic
collaboration between SU2C and Cancer Research UK.
Dr. Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK's executive director of
research funding, said: "Survival from pancreatic cancer is low.
Frankly, progress has not been good enough and it's why we have
invested $6 million in this Dream Team. These are among the finest
researchers in the world and we're really excited by the potential
of their ideas in the fight against this terrible disease."
The Lustgarten Foundation, located in Bethpage, N.Y., is America's
largest nonprofit private funder of pancreatic cancer research
dedicated to scientific and medical advancements related to the
prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of pancreatic cancer. As
a longstanding partner of SU2C, The Lustgarten Foundation's
co-funding of this new Dream Team will be the third Dream Team
supported by the Foundation.
"To eradicate pancreatic cancer will take a collaborative effort,
and private funding plays a critical role in accelerating the
development of new clinical trials for this deadly disease," said
Kerri Kaplan, executive director and chief operating officer of The
Lustgarten Foundation. "This international collaboration will
bring together leading global experts in the field of pancreatic
cancer research, and together, we will focus on developing new
therapies and innovative approaches so patients can benefit and
live longer lives."
As the official scientific partner of SU2C since its launch in
2008, the AACR provides scientific leadership, expert peer review,
and grants administration for SU2C's extensive research
program.
Patients seeking information about research studies may contact
the HonorHealth Research Institute at 480-323-1339 or toll free at
1-877-273-3713, or email [email protected].
# # #
About TGen
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix,
Arizona-based non-profit organization dedicated to conducting
groundbreaking research with life changing results. TGen is focused
on helping patients with neurological disorders, cancer, and
diabetes, through cutting edge translational research (the process
of rapidly moving research towards patient benefit). TGen
physicians and scientists work to unravel the genetic components of
both common and rare complex diseases in adults and children.
Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical
communities literally worldwide, TGen makes a substantial
contribution to help our patients through efficiency and
effectiveness of the translational process. For more information,
visit:www.tgen.org. Follow TGen on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @TGen.
Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
About HonorHealth:
HonorHealth is a non-profit health system serving an area of 1.6
million people in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area. The
network encompasses five acute care hospitals, an extensive medical
group, outpatient surgery centers, a cancer center, clinical
research, medical education, two foundations and community services
with approximately 10,500 employees, 3,700 affiliated physicians
and 3,100 volunteers. HonorHealth was formed by a merger
between Scottsdale Healthcare and John C. Lincoln Health Network.
HonorHealth's mission is to improve the health and well-being of
those we serve. Learn more at HonorHealth.com.
Press contact:
Kaitlan Schick or Alice Giedraitis
Media Relations
480-323-7367
[email protected]
About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of
research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives
now. SU2C, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation
(EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008
by film and media leaders who utilize the industry's resources to
engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of
cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention
as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. As
SU2C's scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer
Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel
Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, conduct rigorous, competitive
review processes to identify the best research proposals to
recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide
expert review of research progress. Stars such as Kate Moss, Naomi
Campbell, Noel Gallagher, Nicole Scherzinger, Pharrell Williams,
Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Gillian Anderson, Britney Spears,
Idris Elba, Andy Murray, Bradley Cooper, Taylor Swift, Martin
Freeman, Jamie Oliver, Kathy Burke, Miranda Hart, Paul O'Grady and
Richard Ayoade are just some of the talent who support Stand Up To
Cancer.
About American Association for Cancer
Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research
(AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional organization
dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent
and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 35,000
laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; population
scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates
residing in 101 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 25 conferences and educational workshops, the
largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with over 18,500
attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes eight 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.