MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL (Dec. 9, 2008)—James McCarthy, Ph.D., a scientist and professor with the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School, has been awarded a $2.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). He will use the grant to lead a laboratory research team that will work to identify new tumor targets that can be used to stop the growth and spread of prostate cancer in patients diagnosed with the disease.

McCarthy leads the Masonic Cancer Center's Tumor Biology and Progression Research Program. He also is a member of the Medical School's Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology. Working with McCarthy on this five-year research project will be Eva Turley, Ph.D., University of Western Ontario, Canada, and Stephen Schmechel, M.D., Ph.D., scientist and assistant professor with the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Center and Medical School.

Prostate cancer is the number one cancer of men. Each year, more than 186,000 men in the United States are told they have prostate cancer; about 3,400 of those men are Minnesotans.

Prostate cancer is currently treated by hormone ablation therapy, which involves removal of the body's testosterone to stop or slow the cancer. However, over time the cancer can recur because the tumor may no longer be sensitive to the withdrawal of hormones.

In previous laboratory research, McCarthy and his colleagues identified key molecular changes in the tissue that surrounds the prostate tumor and helps the cancer cells grow and resist therapy. They have also found ways to disrupt the interaction between the cancer cells and the surrounding tissue to stop the cells from growing and forming into a recurring cancer.

"Our goal with this grant is to build on our previous research by finding new targets for which drugs and therapies can be developed to stop the growth and spread of prostate cancer in patients," McCarthy said. "Achieving this goal will bring us another step closer to curing prostate cancer or containing it so that it cannot spread. It ultimately means helping men with prostate cancer become cancer-free and live longer."

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About the Masonic Cancer Center

The Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota is part of the University's Academic Health Center. It is designated by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center for cancer research, treatment, and education. For more information about the Masonic Cancer Center, call 1-612-624-2620 or visit www.cancer.umn.edu.

Media Contacts:

Mary Lawson, Masonic Cancer Center, 612-624-6165, mlawson@umn.edu

Sara Martin, Academic Health Center, 612-626-7037