Fall 2006 - Karmanos Cancer Institute

Karmanos Researchers Are Not Only Fighting Cancer,
They’re Creating High-Tech Jobs In Detroit
THE CENTER OF INNOVATION
NEB DURIC, PH.D.
Whether they’re conducting the earliest tests of
new drugs or developing new technologies to detect
breast cancer, researchers at the Karmanos Cancer Institute are
receiving national recognition for their work – and multi-million
dollar grants from the State of Michigan.
Two Karmanos researchers recently received a total of $4.2
million in grants from Michigan’s 21st Century Jobs Fund, a
program designed to create high-tech jobs in the state.
CREATING A NEW TECHNOLOGY
Neb Duric, Ph.D., professor of radiation oncology at the Karmanos
Cancer Institute, along with Peter Littrup, M.D., Earle Holsapple
and several other Karmanos colleagues, received a $1.6 million
grant to support continued development of a new breast imaging
technology called Computed Ultrasound Risk Evaluation (CURE).
The technology promises to overcome the limitations of current
breast imaging techniques and may soon help physicians detect
breast cancer at its earliest stages.
“Despite great progress in the detection, diagnosis and treatment
of breast cancer in recent years, major limitations in breast imaging
still remain,” Dr. Duric said. “Mammography is the traditional ‘gold
standard’ for breast imaging, but it is often unable to discern benign
masses from cancerous masses – leading to many unnecessary breast
biopsies.” In women with dense breasts, traditional mammography
makes it difficult to see certain masses. This can lead to missed
opportunities to treat cancer in its earliest stages.
The new technology should help. Unlike mammography, the
CURE technology does not use harmful radiation and does not
compress the breast. Initially, the grant funds will be used to create
new research-related jobs at the Karmanos Cancer Institute –
helping the CURE team to finalize development of the technology
and bring it to market within the next few years.
STUDYING
NEW CANCER
DRUGS
Patricia LoRusso,
D.O., director of
the Karmanos
Cancer Institute’s
Phase I Clinical
Trials Program,
received a $2.6
million grant to
expand the
Program, currently
the only Phase I
cancer program in
Michigan, and one of only 14 in the country.
PATRICIA LORUSSO, D.O.
A Phase I trial is the first test of a new drug – or a new combination
of previously approved treatments – in humans. Phase I trials are
designed to determine a drug’s appropriate maximum dosage
(maximum tolerated dose) and to identify possible side effects.
“We take drugs that have been identified in the lab as having
promise – drugs that have also been identified as being safe – and
we give them to patients,” said Dr. LoRusso. “It’s a vital part of
developing new cancer therapies.”
The funds will add nearly 25 employees to the Phase I Program,
including physicians, nurses, research professionals, clinical care
professionals and various support staff. Increasing the size of the
Institute’s Phase I Program not only allows more patients to
participate in cancer treatment research, but physicians will have
the ability to test many more anti-cancer compounds currently in
development. The grant will also allow the program to increase the
complexity of the Phase I trials available to patients.