Media inquiries: (804) 924-5679

PROSTATE CANCER RESEARCH
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

  • Researchers developed a blood test to find residual prostate cancer after surgery. The test is not only more accurate, but it may also be quicker, less painful and less costly than the current practice of removing and examining tissue samples. Results of a pilot study using the new procedure were published in the May 1999 issue of the Journal of Urology. Researchers are now considering the test for other organs.

    Contact: Dr. Dan Theodorescu, associate professor of urology and the Paul Mellon chair of urologic oncology, (804) 924-0042

  • A grant of $4.2 million from NIH was awarded to microbiologist Michael Weber to study how prostate cancer progresses from a localized, slow-growing tumor to one that develops rapidly.

    Contact: Michael Weber, director of the Cancer Center, (804) 924-5022

  • Biologist Leland Chung is leading a team of researchers looking for a vaccine for prostate cancer. The work focuses on signal transduction, the process by which cells communicate with their environment. The team is pursuing ways to prevent messages that cause normal cells to divide uncontrollably from getting through.

    In addition, his research team has developed gene therapy for prostate cancer that holds promise for preventing the spread, or even providing the cure, for the disease.

    Contact: Leland Chung, professor of urology and cell biology, (804) 243-6649

  • Scientists showed that arachidonic acid, a fatty acid found in meat, dairy fat and egg yolks, but not in plant products, is a powerful stimulus for prostate cancer growth in the test tube. The team, led by Dr. Charles E. Myers, will now try to find a drug to counteract this effect and bring it to clinical trial.

    Contact: Dr. Charles E. Myers, professor of urology and medical oncology, (804) 982-4190

  • A team led by Jin-Tang Dong has identified two genes whose deletions are associated with the aggressive behavior of prostate cancer. According to Dong, comprehensive detection of genetic deletions would better define the nature and behavior of a cancer, and would be useful in distinguishing aggressive prostate cancers from those that are benign.

    Contact: Jin-Tang Dong, assistant professor of pathology, (804) 924-9011

    September 8, 2000