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Media inquiries: 434-924-5679 U.VA. WINS GRANT FOR LYMPHOMA RESEARCH |
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Cancer researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have been awarded a $450,000 grant over two years to study mantle cell lymphoma and develop new, more effective approaches to treat the disease. The grant was awarded by the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) to a multi-disciplinary research team headed by Dr. Michael E. Williams, professor of medicine and pathology and director of the hematologic malignancies program at the U.Va. Cancer Center. Williams’ project will identify new and more effective antibody-based therapies using a model of human mantle cell lymphoma and an analysis of patients with the disease. The goal is to discover the most effective agents and combined therapy needed to develop a cure. “This grant provides the support to build upon earlier work in our laboratory investigating the molecular underpinnings of mantle cell lymphoma,” Williams said. “The grant significantly extends our interdisciplinary research in monoclonal antibody and vaccine therapies for lymphoma and other related diseases.” U.Va.’s grant is one of 18 grants totaling $12.8 million awarded by the Lymphoma Research Foundation to research institutions throughout the world. “Mantle cell lymphoma is a very aggressive form of the disease and prognosis for patients has been very poor,” said Dr. Joseph Bertino, chair of the LRF Scientific Advisory Board. “But new and experimental therapies now being investigated for mantle cell lymphoma make this the right time to invest research funds.” Bertino said. Mantle cell is a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It is relatively uncommon, accounting for only five to seven percent of all adult cases of non-Hodgkin’s in the United States. Mantle cell lymphoma is malignancy of cells located in the “mantle zone” of the lymph node, a thin area surrounding individual follicles. The disease predominantly affects men over 50, who are usually diagnosed when the disease is advanced. Patients with mantle cell lymphoma frequently have many lymph nodes, bone marrow or one or more organs involved in the progression of the disease. Treatment normally involves chemotherapy, but for the vast majority of patients there is no standard therapy or cure. Over 500,000 Americans have some form of lymphoma, according to the LRF. Each year, another 61,000 new cases are diagnosed and nearly 25,000 people die from the disease. During the research project at U.Va., Williams will collaborate with Dr. Ronald Taylor, professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, Dr. John Densmore, assistant professor of clinical internal medicine in the division of hematology/oncology and Dr. John Cousar, professor of pathology. You can find more information on mantle cell lymphoma at the LRF’s website: www.lymphoma.org. The LRF is the nation’s largest lymphoma-focused voluntary health organization devoted exclusively to funding research to cure all lymphomas and providing patients and healthcare professionals with critical information on the disease. December 10, 2003 |