BEIJING--()--The Prostate Cancer Foundation today announced its first two Young Investigators in China to launch its initiative to identify, fund and promote innovative research projects within China. As with all of its funded research across the globe, the PCF China program carries the ultimate goal of ending death and suffering from prostate cancer.
PCF’s first two Young Investigators in China will be honored at a special awards dinner this evening following PCF China’s First Annual Prostate Cancer Symposium being held today at Peking University’s Wu Jieping Urology Center, 9:00–15:00. The awards ceremony will be held at the Four Points Hotel by Sheraton, Tower 1, 25 Yuanda Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 18:00-21:00.
The 2012 PCF China Young Investigator Award recipients are sponsored anonymously by a long-time PCF donor and are:
Shancheng Ren, MD, PhD
Shanghai Changhai Hospital
Mentor: Yinghao Sun, MD, PhD
Gene fusions are the erroneous juxtaposition of two genes that do not normally lie next to each other on the genome. As a result of this abnormal placement of two genes, their expression is altered and this may lead to the development and progression of cancer. The TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusions are a hallmark of prostate cancer (PCa), found in ~50% of Caucasian patients. Recent studies have shown that these TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusions occur at a much lower frequency of ~15-20% in prostate cancer patients in China. The underlying genetic heterogeneity/differences among different ethnic populations may explain this observation.
Dr. Shancheng Ren has identified a novel gene fusion in prostate cancer patients in China that results in the juxtaposition of the SDK1 and the AMACR genes. Dr. Ren proposes to study the relative prevalence and clinical significance of this SDK1-AMACR gene fusion in Chinese PCa patients. Dr. Ren also proposes to investigate the SDK1-AMACR gene fusion as a novel, non-invasive marker for the detection of prostate cancer in Chinese patients.
Dr. Ren and team recently published a paper in Cell Research, describing the role of specific gene fusions in Chinese patients. Read the published paper.
Yuxi Zhang, MD, PhD
The First Hospital of China Medical University
Mentor: Chuize Kong, MD, PhD
Male hormones (androgens) fuel prostate cancer progression and the first line of treatment is Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT). Unfortunately, most prostate cancer patients ultimately become resistant to ADT. This stage of prostate cancer is termed castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and heralds metastasis and an increased risk for death. Researchers recently identified prostate cancer-specific stem cells (PrCSC) that are proposed to play a major role in the development of treatment resistance and progression of prostate cancer. Studies of PrCSCs have shown that these cells are capable of self-renewal, possess enhanced tumor-initiating capabilities, do not rely on androgens for growth and survival and are therefore more resistant to treatment than other cancerous cells. In a previous study, Dr. Zhang has identified a sub-population of PrCSCs that increase in numbers upon treatment with ADT. He observed that this specific sub-population of stem cells decreased when the castration-resistant tumors were treated with androgens and a different PrCSC subset became more prominent in the tumors.
Dr. Zhang proposes to study prostate cancer-specific stem cells that lead to the development of disease progression and treatment resistance. These studies will help in the identification of potential drug targets that prevent CRPC development.
Young Investigator awards in China include a three-year grant, totaled at $37,500 per year. The Prostate Cancer Foundation funds 91 Young Investigators, spanning seven countries and 44 research institutes—a $20.25 million investment.
“PCF-supported Young Investigators have changed the scope of prostate cancer research, advancing treatment sciences and improving the lives of patients worldwide,” said Howard Soule, PhD, chief science officer and executive vice president of PCF. “Our expansion to fund investigators in China will help accelerate our mission of responding to the ever-changing research landscape and to fund high-risk, high-reward programs that facilitate data sharing and deliver better patient outcomes.”
For a full list of 2012 Young Investigator award recipients, please visit www.pcf.org/young-investigators/2012.
About the Prostate Cancer Foundation China
The Prostate Cancer Foundation’s PCF China initiative identifies, funds, and promotes innovative research projects within China to end death and suffering from prostate cancer. Working with leading Chinese associations such as the Chinese Urological Association, PCF China stimulates and builds the prostate cancer research enterprise in China as well as encourages sustainable collaborations through the PCF worldwide knowledge exchange. PCF China commenced in August 2011.
About the Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is the world’s leading philanthropic organization funding and accelerating research. Founded in 1993, PCF has raised more than $475 million and provided funding to over 1,600 research projects at nearly 200 institutions in 15 countries around the world. PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more efficient investment of governmental research funds supporting transformational cancer research. Our efforts have helped produce a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer. More information about PCF can be found at pcf.org.