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Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center Receives Major Research Funding
Tuesday December 20, 9:30 am ET

LINCOLN, Neb., Dec. 20 The U.S. Congress directed $1.5 million in
cancer research funding to the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center as
part of the Department of Defense appropriations for the current
fiscal year.

This critical new funding will allow doctors and researchers at
Lincoln- based Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center to develop new, more
effective treatments for cancer patients based on their molecular
profile. This funding is expected to be signed into law soon.

"This research will help us identify genomic sequence changes
associated with cancer in individual patients," said Dr. Mark
Carlson with the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center.

"Our hope for the future is that your doctor can run a simple test
on a small tumor sample and use a quick genetic analysis to tailor
the best therapy for you as an individual," explains Dr.
Carlson. "It looks increasingly promising that this form of genetic
testing will improve development of cancer therapy and help more
people survive cancer."

Some call this personalized medicine. This Lincoln cancer center is
now part of a fundamentally different way to cure disease. Delving
more deeply into the genetic origins leading to this complex set of
diseases will help create new discoveries and tools for a new
generation of cancer prevention, diagnostic and therapy strategies.

"Cancer is a very complex disease that will kill over 560,000
Americans this year," explains Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb. "This
research will link cancer research around the country and
potentially revolutionize the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of
cancer," Fortenberry said in announcing the research funding. Both
U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel and Sen. Ben Nelson worked closely with
Rep. Fortenberry to bring this research funding to Nebraska.

"We are pleased that Nebraska will help explore how physicians can
use this information to save lives. It is a great opportunity for
our local medical community to work together on new ideas in cancer
therapy. For the seriously ill, we will create access to the latest
research ideas in a hometown setting," Fortenberry adds.

The funding is part of an ongoing Department of Defense technology-
transfer initiative. This program is aimed at moving dual-use
discoveries and medical treatments more rapidly into society, so
both the military and the public benefit from government research.
In this case, the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center will be part of
the U.S. Department of Defense's National Functional Genomics Center.

The Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center will use the funds to create a
local network to collect cancer tissue samples from patients and
follow these patients' progress through therapy. Information will be
merged into a massive nationwide database that will help physicians
make personalized cancer treatment decisions.

This large-scale effort combines government, academic and private-
sector resources. The program also uses a "systems biology" approach
that brings together advanced science in pharmaceuticals, molecular
biology, genetic screening, bio-informatics systems and other
technology.

"This program will be very meaningful in Nebraska," adds Tracy
Christianson, Director of Research, Southeast Nebraska Cancer
Center. "The latest figures indicate that more than 8,000 new cases
of invasive cancer will be diagnosed among our state's citizens.
Sadly, we will experience nearly 3,500 deaths, based on these
estimates. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in Nebraska,
after heart disease. This research will help us make faster progress
in solving a critical health issue for our state and our country."

While great strides have been made in cancer research, says
Christianson, more must be done. "We can now study tens of thousands
of variations at a time, rather than focus on single genes. We can
open new frontiers in medical knowledge for new cures, faster, and
more effectively than ever before," she added.

The Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center is a unique participant in this
program, Christianson adds.

"The other participants are large medical research institutions
around the country," she explains. "Our center is the only local
physician's clinic in the program. We are the pioneer in launching
this diagnostic innovation into a local medical community. What we
learn will be the model nationally."

The Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center has an active clinical research
program, she says. This made it an ideal candidate to be the first
local community based center to participate in the program.

"Our main goal in doing clinical trials is to offer our patient's
the latest options in cancer treatment. Our clinical study program
matches very well with this effort to implement the latest
innovations in using genetics to diagnose the most effective
treatment alternatives."

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Source: Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center

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