UCLA gets $13.9 million for lung cancer research

By Hemesh Patel
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death in the United States,
killing more than 170,000 people a year, according to UCLA
researchers.

Last week, the National Cancer Institute awarded the UCLA
Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center a $13.9 million grant over a
period of five years.

The university’s cancer center is one of six to ever
receive the competitive Specialized Program of Research Excellence
grant.

“We will be one of the lead centers in developing novel
therapies in lung cancer, prevention and early detection,”
said Dr. Steven Dubinett, director of the UCLA Lung Cancer Research
Program.

UCLA was one of three schools, along with Vanderbilt University,
that received the grant after waiting 15 months and completing a
500-page application.

The grant, according to researchers, is significant because
funding for lung cancer research usually receives less than other
types of cancer research.

“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 Dr. Robert Striteter, chief of
pulmonary and critical care medicine, in a statement.

According to the Cancer Information Service, a program of the
National Cancer Institute, funding for lung cancer research was
$150 million last year ““ compared to $407 million for breast
cancer during that time.

One of the reasons for such a disparity between the figures is
that there is no standard screening for lung cancer. According to
spokespeople at the Cancer Information Service, cancers such as
breast cancer can be found early and are potentially treatable.

The recent grant will allow researchers to find ways of
detecting lung cancer at earlier stages.

“This will be a challenge, but we do have the technology
at our disposal,” Dubinett said. “We’re trying to
change the whole course of the (disease) by discovering it
early.”

In addition to studying ways of detecting this type of cancer
early, scientists will attempt to find new treatments and explore
the genetic side of lung cancer.

Scientists hope to use the grant to fund five projects,
including lung cancer in relationship to radiology, molecular
epidemiology and immune therapy.

“The grant was an enormous recognition of years of lung
research and will allow us to take it to the next level,”
said Professor of Medicine and Urology, Dr. Robert Figlin, who will
be co-principal investigator and director of clinical trials.

Currently, clinical trials at the center focus on early
diagnosis in high-risk patients.

The grant will allow scientists to explore new types of
treatment, such as gene therapy.

Each project will touch on both the clinical and the scientific
aspects of lung cancer research.

“SPORE takes the laboratory observations into the clinic
in an expedited and rapid fashion,” Figlin said.
“We’ll have a major impact on the disease ““
there’s no question about it.”