McDonnell Foundation Honors Professor For Innovative Immunotherapy Project.(Brief Article)

2001 DEC 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- William Chambers, PhD, associate professor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has received a $450,000 award from the James S. McDonnell Foundation through its 21st Century Science Initiative.

The award program annually funds researchers pursuing challenging and important projects that will likely advance the current state of scientific knowledge in treating brain cancer. Chambers, a member of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute's (UPCI) Immunology Program and Brain Tumor Center, was one of three researchers nationally who received the award this year (2001).

The focus of Chambers' research is on the treatment of gliomas, which are highly lethal, primary brain tumors. At present, these tumors are very difficult to treat successfully. Malignant gliomas make up the majority of primary brain tumors and will cause the deaths of approximately 13,000 brain cancer patients this year alone.

"A brain tumor diagnosis can be devastating for a patient," said Chambers. "I am hopeful that pursuing promising, new approaches to treating gliomas can translate into vast improvements in treatment, and possibly even cures."

Gliomas tend to aggressively invade the folds and creases of the brain around the tumor, making them difficult or impossible to completely remove surgically. Similarly, with standard treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation, it is difficult to treat the tumor successfully without damaging the surrounding healthy tissues. Because of the limitations of standard therapies, Chambers is exploring gene therapy-based, immunological approaches that activate and maintain the function of the antitumor immune response.

"While there is evidence that immune cells, such as lymphocytes, infiltrate gliomas, they are generally ineffective in fighting the tumor's growth and development," said Chambers. "Many ...