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RESEARCHERS AT U.VA. AWARDED OVER $4 MILLION TO STUDY PROSTATE CANCER

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded $4.2 million over five years to researchers at the University of Virginia Cancer Center. The grant will be used to study how prostate cancer progresses from a localized, slow-growing tumor to one that develops rapidly.

While many men live for years with prostate cancer that develops very slowly, in some cases, the cancer turns aggressive, growing and spreading quickly, said Michael J. Weber, a microbiologist at U.Va. and principal investigator for the funded study. This research seeks to understand how that change occurs. Once we determine that, we hope to prevent malignant progressions from occurring and develop more effective therapies.

Like all cancers, prostate cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth. Cancer cells grow unpredictably, ignoring the warnings to which other cells respond. Initially, prostate cancer cells require the presence of the male hormone, testosterone; cutting off the supply of testosterone can slow the tumor growth. However, prostate cancer cells eventually develop the ability to grow and spread independent of hormone levels. At this stage, the disease is very difficult to control and treatment options are limited.

Aside from skin malignancies, prostate cancer is the most frequently occurring of all cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates in 1999 approximately 179,300 new prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States and 37,000 American men are expected to die from the disease.

The U.Va. Cancer Center has established a team of doctors and scientists to treat and study prostate cancer. The new funding from NCI and other funding for the Cancer Center supports the research activities of this team.

The Cancer Center is one of only 18 clinical centers designated by NCI. The center aims to bring the benefits of ongoing, highly sophisticated cancer research to clinical cancer treatment. Researchers work side by side with doctors and nurses to ensure research developments directly benefit cancer patients. The center includes 135 staff investigators with more than $35 million in grant funds.

September 2, 1999