The SPeCIALIZeD Program of
Research excellence (SPORe) in pancreatic
cancer is designed to draw on UAB’s advanc-
es in genomic medicine and the promise of
new anti-cancer agents pioneered by UAB
researchers. The Cancer Center received a
SPORe planning grant in pancreatic cancer
in 2003; the new award is a full SPORe
grant, recognizing the Cancer Center’s lead-
ership and accomplishments in the field of
pancreatic cancer research and treatment.
Pancreatic cancer remains the fourth
leading cause of cancer death overall in the
United States, with more than 43,000 new
cases of pancreatic cancer each year. The
American Cancer Society projected 590
pancreatic cancer deaths in Alabama in
2010. Obesity—proven to be an epidemic in
Alabama and across the country—has been
linked to lower survival rates for pancreatic
cancer.
“Given the current bleak outlook for
patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,
this SPORe grant gives us an opportunity to
make real progress in diagnosis and treatment
of the disease,” says Cancer Center Director
edward Partridge, M.D. “The partners in
this project have the translational research
experience and know-how to move discover-
ies from the laboratory into the clinical set-
ting with remarkable success.”
The grant will focus on leading-edge bio-
markers: biological warning signs that cancer,
such as a pancreatic tumor, is present or likely
to develop. It also will test new therapeutic
agents that have shown promise in prevent-
ing, slowing or effectively treating the dis-
ease. Many of the projects draw upon new
discoveries in genomic medicine and com-
bination therapies, says Donald Buchsbaum,
Ph.D., a Cancer Center senior scientist and
pancreatic SPORe principal investigator.
Buchsbaum’s fellow co-principal investigator
is Selwyn Vickers, M.D., associate director of
the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer
Center.
The partnership grant will fund four pri-
mary projects:
• Biomarkers for earlier diagnosis. Testing
continues on a combination of imaging tech-
niques and blood sampling that can help
develop new screening tests for pancreatic
cancer. Levels of currently known tumor
biomarkers may be higher in people with
pancreatic cancer, but by the time those
higher levels are detected, the cancer may
be advanced and difficult to treat. The new
techniques will help identify biomarkers that
can be used in screening for pancreatic can-
cer as well as pre-cancerous changes in the
pancreas. Project leaders are Cancer Center
members Christopher Klug, Ph.D., and
William Grizzle, M.D., Ph.D.
• Targeted therapy with tigatuzumab.
Clinical trials continue on a class of anti-
cancer molecules called monoclonal anti-
bodies, which enlist help from the body’s
immune system to fight tumors. One promis-
ing antibody is the UAB-discovered tigatu-
zumab, which is used in combination with
research update
Pancreatic cancer SPOre The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, in collaboration with the University of
Minnesota, has won an $11.3-million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)
to explore groundbreaking pancreatic cancer research, prevention and treatment.
CaNCER CENTER RECEivEs
Pancreatic cancer remainS the FOurth
leaDing cauSe OF cancer Death Overall in the
uniteD StateS.
B y J o s h T i l l
Pancreatic SPore
principal investigator
Donald buchsbaum with
scientists James mobley
and Christopher Klug
16 u A b C o m P r e H e N S I V e C A N C e r C e N T e r u A b C o m P r e H e N S I V e C A N C e r C e N T e r 17