T H E M A RY L A N D C I G A R E T T E R E S T I T U T I O N F U N D S AT J O H N S H O P K I N S
2 0 0 2 R E S E A R C H AWA R D S
WHILE LEGISLATORS from other states that benefitted from the national tobacco settlement used the money to patch holes in their state budgets or engaged in lengthy legal battles over how the restitution funds should be allocated, our own state of Maryland quickly put the money to good use, investing its funds in the fight against cancer. In just its second year, the CRF provided seed funding to researchers who have since parlayed this initial state investment into multi-million dollar grants and reported findings that have garnered international attention. Early CRF-supported research on DNA methylation by Stephen Baylin and James Herman later earned a National Cancer Institute SPORE grant (Specialized Programs of Research Excellence), and in 2004 was named the most outstanding research in the SPORE program. Work by Maura Gillison linking HPV to oral cancers became one of the top cancer advances of 2007, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology. BEATING BREAST CANCER TREATMENT RESISTANCE
Breast cancers often respond well to drug therapy but, over time, become resistant. B E N H O PA R K , M . D. , P H . D. , and team introduced specific known gene mutations into breast cancer cell lines to see how the mutations help cancer cells resist chemotherapy. The team envisions a library of cell lines to allow development of multiple drugs that target different pathways and prevent the emergence of resistant cancer cells. In 2004, Park continued his CRF research identifying novel compounds that target tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer. ■ FINDING A RED FLAG FOR BREAST CANCER
Women with proliferative benign breast disease have an increased risk of breast cancer. In order to implement effective preventive strategies, it is necessary to identify which women will go on to develop breast cancer and to distinguish between those cancers that will be noninvasive and manageable and those that will become invasive and difficult to treat. The goal of a study by K A L A V I S VA N AT H A N , M . H . S . , M . D.
is to find specific biomarkers that would make it possible to select out women with proliferative or noninvasive cancer who are at risk of developing invasive breast cancer. These markers would be used in the clinic as targets for chemopreventive agents. This research also received CRF funding in 2003. ■ A BREAST CANCER VACCINE
A study by L E IS H A E M E N S , M . D. , P H . D.
focused on an immune-system boosting vaccine used in combination with timed sequential doses of chemotherapy. Advanced breast cancer is often attributed to the failure of post-surgical therapies to destroy all remaining cancer cells. These resistant cells ultimately result in metastatic disease with very poor cure rates. Activating the immune system with anti-tumor vaccines represents a promising approach to overcoming drug resistance and driving the immune system to eradicate resistant tumor cells. The researchers believe integrating the vaccine approach with traditional chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy can work in synergy to destroy tumor cells. ■ UNCOVERING CANCER TARGETS
Investigating the relationship between subtle DNA changes, known as polymorphisms, and cancer could help identify new biomarkers for early detection as well as potential targets for drug therapy. INGO RUCZINSKI, PH.D. and team developed a sophisticated computerized technology for analyzing data to uncover such relationships. It will also reveal genetic cancerrelated differences that may exist between races, helping to uncover the cause of high cancer rates among certain minority groups. ■ HEAD AND NECK CANCER RESOURCE
Head and neck cancers, and particularly oral cancers, are among the most devastating cancers affecting Marylanders. Significant basic and clinical research has been conducted independently at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland and could be accelerated with joint research endeavors. Collab-
orations already under way include studies of molecular genetic detection of head and neck cancer in saliva and tissue, the association between the human papilloma virus (HPV) and head and neck cancer and genetic culprits in oral cancers. M A U R A G I L L I S O N M . D. , P H . D. proposes additional projects including studies in rarer populations affected by head and neck cancers, such as non-smokers and non-drinkers, that would essentially be impossible to complete without collaboration between institutions. The ability to double the number of patients studied and share resources, such as tissue samples, data, and biostatistical information, is expected to lead to more rapid discoveries and advances in the treatment of head and neck cancers. ■ TARGETED THERAPIES FOR PROSTATE CANCER
Cellular biology advances have revealed an expanding number of genetic abnormalities unique to cancer cells and believed to be involved in the development, growth, and spread of tumors. Researchers are now studying several drugs, known as target compounds, that specifically focus on these abnormalities. Rather than destroying tumors, these new compounds appear to halt cancer growth and prevent them from spreading and invading healthy tissue and organs. Investigators, led by M I C H A E L C A R D U C C I , M . D. , began studies of these targeted compounds in animal and tumor models using sophisticated imaging technology to monitor drug delivery to tumors and changes in tumor size. Clinical trials for