Discovery to Delivery
October 22nd Public Forum to address research in cancer prevention, detection
Free event to feature Rep. Rosa DeLauro, leading cancer experts
For Immediate Release
Date: 10/15/07
Contact: Renee Gaudette 203- 436-8533 or renee.gaudette@yale.edu
New Haven, Conn. – Incredible progress has been made over the last several decades to improve the delivery and quality of treatments offered to cancer patients. However, there is a need for stronger collaboration so that patients can more rapidly acquire the benefits of scientific discoveries.
Research happening today at Yale Cancer Center and other leading cancer centers is bringing us to that point. New genetic markers and proteins are being discovered that can identify early signs of cancer and predict who is at high risk.
Yale Cancer Center, Yale-New Haven Hospital, and the non-profit, Friends of Cancer Research, are co-sponsoring a public forum on Monday, October 22nd, at the Anlyan Center at Yale School of Medicine from 9:00 – 11:00 AM, to discuss the impact of research on cancer prevention and early detection.
The interactive event will feature an expert panel including Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.); Richard L. Edelson, MD, Director of Yale Cancer Center; Andrew von Eschenbach, MD, Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Gary Kelloff, MD, National Cancer Institute; Louis Denis, MD, Pfizer Oncology; and other top researchers in the area of cancer research and prevention.
“While progress made in cancer research and prevention over the last decade has yielded many advances in cancer care, the physicians and researchers at Yale Cancer Center are continually striving to provide the earliest detection and most innovative treatment for the disease. This public forum will showcase the collaborations in cancer research and treatment at our Center and in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” said Richard L. Edelson, MD, Director of Yale Cancer Center.
Researchers are looking at how drugs, foods and nutrients interact with cells to slow or prevent the growth of cancer, as well as identifying genes and proteins that may be used to detect cancer early or even predict a person’s future risk of cancer. Drugs or nutritional interventions can then be developed to target these genes or markers.
“The key to prevention and early detection is that we must use these methods on people who are healthy, many of whom might never get cancer. This means we must develop methods that are affordable, reliable, safe and tolerable. Significantly reducing cancer incidence and severity is absolutely possible through the successful development and use of chemoprevention and early detection,” says Ellen V. Sigal, PhD, chair and founder of Friends of Cancer Research, a non-profit dedicated to addressing barriers and opportunities in cancer research and cancer policy.
The town hall event, which is free and open to the public, will provide an interactive and in-depth look at promising areas in prevention and early detection from an expert panel of our nation's leaders in various fields connected to cancer research. For many of these areas, the hurdle to these advances is not the science – it is the funding, or lack of.
Friends of Cancer Research President, Marlene Malek reiterates, “Federally supported cancer research is an investment in our nation’s health and leads to fewer people dying from this disease. This message needs to be delivered to our elected officials frequently to get the point across with so many competing priorities facing our nation.”
What: Discovery to Delivery: A town hall meeting, open to the public
When: 9:00 – 11:00 AM, Monday, October 22nd
Where: The Anlyan Center, Yale School of Medicine, 300 Cedar Street, New Haven
More information: (203) 436-8549 or www.yalecancercenter.org