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�鶹��ýCancer Center faculty awarded $1M V Foundation for Cancer Research grant

5-year grant to support study of mesothelioma in patients carrying BAP1 mutation

Link to b-roll, photos: 

**Suggested VO script below

HONOLULU —  Dr. Michele Carbone and Dr. Haining Yang, both Professors at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center, have been named recipients of the prestigious for Cancer Research All-Star Translational Award — a $1 million grant over five years to support their research to study the unique characteristics of mesothelioma developing in patients carrying germline BAP1 mutations. 

Carbone and Yang discovered a new disease that they named “the BAP1 Cancer Syndrome,” which they have linked to inherited mutations of the BAP1 gene. People born with these mutations develop several cancer types over their lifetime, most commonly mesothelioma. Now, with support from the V-Foundation All-Star Translational Award, Carbone and Yang will be studying how BAP1-mutant patients manage to fight and survive cancer. This research will provide more opportunities to target the same mechanisms in all cancer patients and make them more resistant to cancer-cell invasion of nearby tissues and organs.

The All-Star Translational Award is a re-investment in an exceptional and innovative previous V Scholar, Translational, or Game-Changer cancer research grant recipient. Carbone, Yang, and Dr. Ian Pagano were previously awarded in 2012 for their proposal “HMGB1: A Biomarker for Mineral Fiber Exposure and Detection of Malignant Mesothelioma.” The All-Star grant provides a $1,000,000 grant payable over five years for the most innovative ideas to improve the cancer landscape for patients. 

The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by the late Jim Valvano, North Carolina State University basketball coach and ESPN commentator. The foundation has funded over $458 million in cancer research grants across North America. The highly competitive award process follows a rigorous scientific review supervised by a world-class Scientific Advisory Committee. The mission of the V Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization based in North Carolina, is to “fund game-changing research and all-star scientists to accelerate Victory Over Cancer® and save lives.” 

Because of previous discoveries by Carbone and Yang, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda MD, has opened a surgical clinical trial for cancer patients carrying BAP1 mutations (, ), according to Dr. Carbone. Both studies demonstrate their work within NCI clinical trials that follow BAP1 mutant families for over 20 years. He and Yang have been enrolling and studying these patients in collaboration with NCI physicians. By studying families affected by the BAP1 Cancer Syndrome, Drs. Carbone and Yang discovered that these patients can “fight mesothelioma because the cancer cells in these patients are, for the most part, unable to invade nearby tissues and organs, and therefore these patients survive many years,” Carbone said. “When mesothelioma develops in asbestos workers, these cancers are deadly within one to two years because they are invasive and resistant to therapy. In other words, our researchers discovered that on one hand BAP1 mutations cause cancer; on the other hand, when cancer develops, those patients that carry a BAP1 mutation in their germline can actually fight cancer growth” (). Their data have been independently confirmed by a surgical clinical trial conducted in the NIH Clinical Center by NCI intramural investigators and published back-to-back in the same issue of Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO), the official journal of the International Agency to Study Lung Cancer ().

To learn more about the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center, go to its . 

To learn more about the V Foundation, visit its . 
 

About The University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center

The University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center is dedicated to saving lives in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. It is inspiring hope by working to conquer cancer. The flagship priority is to understand and address cancer health disparities. The center strives to achieve this through research, education, patient care, and community outreach, focusing on the unique and diverse ethnic, cultural, and environmental characteristics of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

The �鶹��ýCancer Center is one of only 73 institutions designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), representing a significant mark of excellence, and is the only NCI-designated cancer center in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. The center contributes more than $57 million to Hawai‘i’s economy through scientific research, clinical trials, and other activities.

As part of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the �鶹��ýCancer Center operates out of facilities located in Kakaʻako. The center directly employs more than 300 faculty and staff, with an additional 200 affiliate members and cooperative agreements with organizations that are part of the Hawaiʻi Cancer Consortium. The consortium includes The Queen’s Health Systems, Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, Kuakini Medical Center, Adventist Health Castle, Hilo Benioff Medical Center, Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association (HMSA), and the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), all working together with the �鶹��ýCancer Center to advance cancer research and treatment in the state.

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About The V Foundation for Cancer Research

The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State University basketball coach, ESPN commentator and member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The V Foundation has funded over $458 million in game-changing cancer research grants in North America through a competitive process strictly supervised by a world-class Scientific Advisory Committee. Because the V Foundation has an endowment to cover administrative expenses, 100% of direct donations is awarded to cancer research and programs. The V team is committed to funding the best scientists to accelerate Victory Over Cancer® and save lives. To learn more, visit.

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Photos: 
Dr. Michele Carbone, Director, Thoracic Oncology, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center
Dr. Haining Yang, Director, Professor, University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center

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Suggested VO script: 
 

ANCHOR INTRO:
Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center have received a major national award to advance groundbreaking work on a rare and aggressive cancer.

VO:
�鶹��ýCancer Center researchers Dr. Michele Carbone and Dr. Haining Yang have been awarded a prestigious one-million-dollar All-Star Translational Award from the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

The five-year grant will support their research into mesothelioma —a rare and aggressive cancer — in patients who carry inherited mutations in the BAP1 gene.

Carbone and Yang previously discovered what they named the “BAP1 Cancer Syndrome,” linking inherited gene mutations to higher risks of multiple cancers, especially mesothelioma.

Their research also revealed something surprising — patients with BAP1 mutations may actually survive longer because their cancers are less likely to spread aggressively.

When cancer develops in these patients, the cancer cells are often unable to invade nearby tissues and organs, allowing patients to survive for many years.

The new funding will help researchers better understand how these patients fight cancer — and potentially apply those same mechanisms to improve outcomes for all cancer patients.

The �鶹��ýCancer Center is one of only 73 cancer centers carrying a National Cancer Institute designation. That places it in the top 4% of all cancer centers nationwide.

TAG:
Researchers say this latest award highlights Hawaiʻi’s growing role in leading breakthrough cancer discoveries that could save lives worldwide.