UNC Cancer Study Grant Renewed

The National Cancer Institute has awarded the Lineberger Center a $12.5 million renewal grant for its Specialized Program of Research Excellence in breast cancer. The grant will provide the center with funds over the next five years, said Shelton Earp, director of the center.

Earp said the center applied for the grant in 1992, 1996 and 2000 and was awarded the funds every time it applied.

The grant will be used to fund eight different projects and areas of breast cancer research. Earp said some of the projects will include exploring novel types of cancer therapy, studying the genetic makeup of cancerous tumors and analyzing the genes of breast cancer patients.

Earp said the programs will try to find out whether certain people are predisposed to developing breast cancer, which cells are resistant to chemotherapy, how different types of cancers respond to estrogen and how to stimulate a person's immune system to fight breast cancer.

Lisa Carey, assistant professor of hematology oncology, said she is involved in a project that will be funded by the renewed grant. Her project aims to tailor breast cancer treatment to specific patients.

Normally, all types of breast cancer are treated with a certain progression of drugs. Carey compared cancer drugs to antibiotics saying that if one antibiotic does not work on a patient, the doctor will prescribe another.

As of yet doctors cannot determine which cancer responds to which drug, but scientists working on the project will be able to study breast cancer samples to better understand the results of different treatments.

"Based on the genetics of individual cancer, doctors can choose the right drug," Carey said.

Earp said that without the UNC breast cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence, the center would have been forced to cut back on its research. But he said the center will be able to continue ongoing projects and establish new ones as a result of the grant.

"It enables us to perform novel clinical research to try and improve the survival of breast cancer victims," he said.

Earp said the grant has allowed the center to develop opportunities for new faculty and give them valuable research experience.

Carey said she hopes the project will help cure more cases of breast cancer. "(The project) may become a multi-institutional study," Carey said. "It may grow to involve other centers around the country that work together."

Earp said the award is prestigious and that the UNC breast cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence is the second largest grant that the center has received from the NCI. He said, "I think it's a very nice mark of distinction on the national scene that UNC has one of the best breast cancer centers in the country."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.