Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

Pitt Cancer Institute Awarded Major Federal Grants for Early Cancer Detection
  • USA - English


News provided by

UPMC

Aug 15, 2016, 09:00 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX


Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) August 15, 2016 -- The University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), partner with UPMC CancerCenter, will receive or is sharing in $15.5 million over five years from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to accelerate research into the early detection of cancer.

Imagine if a simple blood test could accurately detect cancer before the patient even knows something is wrong. That is the ultimate goal of these projects.

Post this

The NCI Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) projects seek to discover, develop and validate tests that use blood or other bodily fluids to detect cancer biomarkers—the biological signatures left by cancerous cells—in order to detect cancer at an earlier stage or to better monitor cancer progression. The projects typically involve dozens of scientists at multiple institutions.

“Too often, people with advanced cancer have no symptoms, and their cancer isn’t found until it is too late for even the best doctors to save them,” said Nancy E. Davidson, M.D., director of UPCI. “But imagine if a simple blood test could accurately detect cancer before the patient even knows something is wrong. That is the ultimate goal of these projects, and our UPCI scientists are dedicated to a team approach toward making such easy early detection a reality.”

Randall Brand, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Gastrointestinal Malignancy Early Detection, Diagnosis & Prevention Program with UPCI, is principal investigator with Surinder K. Batra, Ph.D., from the University of Nebraska, on the first ever EDRN Clinical Validation Center for pancreatic cancer. These centers manage large repositories of blood and tissue samples against which promising biomarkers can be tested. This is the last phase of the NCI-funded early detection process. Once a promising biomarker is validated, typically it will be further developed for clinical use by a biotech or pharmaceutical company.

Dr. Brand also is a co-investigator on an EDRN grant for a Biomarker Development Laboratory headed by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center that is geared toward discovering biomarkers for pancreatic cancer.

“Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers because it is rarely found early,” said Dr. Brand. “That is why teamwork is so essential to saving lives. Here in Pittsburgh, we have a well-established infrastructure to facilitate the sharing of information; we have a regional cancer center, and our surgeons, oncologists, pathologists and scientists all work together. Our infrastructure will make it possible to hit the ground running in coordinating with other institutions toward the goal of an accurate, effective test for the early detection of pancreatic cancer.”

Robert Schoen, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and epidemiology and interim chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at Pitt, is principal investigator with Kenneth Kinzler, Ph.D., and Bert Vogelstein, M.D., both of Johns Hopkins University, on another EDRN Biomarker Development Laboratory, this one focused on colon cancer.

Dr. Schoen’s group plans to evaluate a screening test in blood that will compare people with colon cancer to those without it to see if their biomarker test can accurately detect subjects with colon cancer. They also will evaluate a blood monitoring test for people with newly diagnosed stage III colorectal cancer to see if their monitoring test is better than the standard monitoring test at detecting subjects with recurrent disease.

“Of course, a blood test to screen for cancer is highly desirable compared to colonoscopy or stool-based tests that currently are in use,” said Dr. Schoen. “A test that can tell you things after you’ve been diagnosed also would be valuable. For example, you could determine if the cancer treatment is working or if it needs to be changed, and you could potentially identify patients with recurrence earlier.”

Finally, Anna Lokshin, Ph.D., professor of medicine and pathology with UPCI, is a principal investigator on a subcontract of the EDRN Clinical Validation Center led by Christopher Li, M.D., Ph.D., of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. That project is split into three parts that involve evaluation of potential biomarkers for breast, colorectal and ovarian cancers.

“We believe we’ve selected some very strong biomarker test candidates for validation and that these tests will not only help detect cancer earlier, but also lessen the difficulty some patients find with preventative screenings, such as mammography and colonoscopy,” said Dr. Lokshin. “We anticipate that the work we do with this project will yield a clinical impact relatively soon.”

The NCI grants for these projects are U01CA200-466-01, U01CA152653-06, U01CA152753 and U01CA152637-06.

# # #

About UPCI
As the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in western Pennsylvania, UPCI is a recognized leader in providing innovative cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment; bio-medical research; compassionate patient care and support; and community-based outreach services. Investigators at UPCI, a partner with UPMC CancerCenter, are world-renowned for their work in clinical and basic cancer research.

http://www.upmc.com/media

Contact: Amy Charley
Phone: 412-586-9778
E-mail: CharleyA(at)upmc(dot)edu

Contact: Courtney Caprara
Phone: 412-647-6190
E-mail: CapraraCL(at)upmc(dot)edu

Amy Charley, UPMC, +1 412-586-9778, [email protected]

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.