HORMONE RELATED MALIGNANCIES PROGRAM

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Description: (Applicant's Description) The goal of the Hormone Related Malignancies Program is to lower the incidence and mortality rates of cancers of the reproductive tract and other tumors of the endocrine system by improved diagnosis, prevention, and therapy. These goals are achieved by facilitating research collaborations between basic, clinical, and population scientists, and between scientists with different research disciplines. Programmatic activities to stimulate interactions include a weekly research seminar series; weekly breast, prostate, and Gyn cancer clinical conferences; annual minisymposium; and semi-annual focus group meetings. The main laboratory research themes of the Program are study of nuclear and other hormone receptors and cell-cycle signal transduction pathways as therapeutic targets and tumor development studies in animal models. The main clinical activities of the program are high-dose chemotherapy of breast cancer patients with hematopoietic stem cell support, screening studies in both breast and prostate cancer, and prostate and Gyn cancer therapeutic studies. The number of investigator initiated trials and accrual to these trials have increased since the last review. This program evolved by merging the former basic science program, Hormones and Cancer, with the clinical program in Breast Cancer and the disease focus groups in prostate cancer and gynecologic cancers. Dr. Dean Edwards, former co-leader of the Breast Cancer program, became the overall program leader in 1999. He is assisted by staff investigators Gary Miller, MD, PhD, and Elizabeth J. Shpall, MD. Each of the disease areas (Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Gyn Cancers, and Endocrine Cancers) continues to hold separate weekly clinical conferences in addition to the combined weekly scientific seminar series. Members from each of the four focus areas select the speakers and topics for these seminars as well as the minisymposia. The 34 regular program members and 7 associates come from seven departments and have more than $6 million in annual direct cost research and training support, including more than $2 million from the NCI and $3 million from cancer agencies. A joint training grant in breast cancer has been submitted by program members (D. Edwards, PI). Future plans include additional clinical recruitments in breast and prostate cancers, basic recruitments in all areas, submission of joint program projects, and a SPORE application.