FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MAJOR PANCREATIC CANCER MAPPING PROJECT
TO TRACK CURRENT RESEARCH AND CONNECT THE DOTS
Pancreatic Cancer
Action Network (PanCAN) Partners with the National Cancer Institute
(NCI) to Pioneer
First Mapping Model for Cancer Research
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. U.S.A.
(July 28, 2004) - The
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), the first national patient-based
advocacy organization for the pancreatic cancer community that
serves patients, families, medical researchers and physicians,
is partnering with the National Cancer Institute ( NCI ), the lead
federally-funded research organization dedicated to eliminating
suffering and death for all cancers, to develop a map summarizing
the nation’s current pancreatic cancer research investment.
PanCAN originated the mapping concept and NCI has been instrumental
in moving the project forward to “connect the dots” that
will identify and track research and clinical trials that are primarily
focused on pancreatic cancer. The map will facilitate the development
of national strategies to maximize and leverage available resources
in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
The completed PanCAN- NCI
Pancreatic Cancer Research MAP (PanC Research MAP ) will chart
all research focused on pancreatic cancer and make it publicly
available through a web-based database. Phase I of the MAP ,
currently in progress, focuses on publicly funded research. Phase
II will incorporate privately funded research into the database.
The MAP will afford patients, families, researchers and physicians
access to a comprehensive listing of ongoing research projects
and clinical trials information.
It is anticipated that this information
will be used to highlight research progress, identify gaps in
areas of research funding, and assist in the development of collaborative
research projects and clinical trials. The PanC Research MAP
is expected to be up and running by the end of 2004.
“Our
goal is to deliver progress in the area of pancreatic cancer research
and treatment,” said Paula Kim, Co-Founder
and President, Scientific and Government Affairs, of the Pancreatic
Cancer Action Network. “No one else is taking this unique
mapping approach. We anticipate that the MAP project will encourage
collaboration and inter-connection among patients, families, researchers
and physicians. The MAP will give a true picture of the current
state of pancreatic cancer research, and we’ll be able to
quickly identify the type and location of current research efforts.
We see the MAP as an important model for all cancers, but one that
is especially important for enhancing the research effort in underfunded,
underrepresented cancers.”
According to NCI Director Andrew
C. von Eschenbach, M.D., " NCI
is committed to changing the course of cancer through innovative
collaborations like the PanCAN- NCI Pancreatic Cancer Research
MAP. Engaging
the advocacy and research communities, the MAP will serve to integrate
information on new research and discoveries that will enable us
to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer."
The Pancreatic Cancer Research MAP can
be used by
- Researchers to identify potential partners for collaboration
and to potentially locate biological specimens and shared services
- Funding agencies to develop or establish funding opportunities,
and develop interactions among researchers, agencies, advocacy
groups and the pancreatic cancer community
- Patients, families, researchers, and clinicians to identify
rate-limiting steps in research, drug development and delivery
- PanCAN and the NCI to collaboratively work with researchers
and industry to establish links for community outreach programs
and patient accrual for clinical trials
- PanCAN and NCI to optimize career development opportunities
that strengthen the research field
For updates on the PanC Research MAP , visit www.pancan.org.
About Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is the 4 th leading cause of cancer death in
the U.S. for men and women. Approximately 31,860 people will be
diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year in the United States
, and the majority—31,270 men and women—will die, according
to PanCAN. Despite the fact that 99 percent of pancreatic cancer
sufferers die, the federal government invests less money in pancreatic
cancer than any other leading cause of cancer mortality.
About PanCAN
PanCAN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1999
by surviving family members of individuals who died of pancreatic
cancer. Chartered as a grassroots organization of advocacy for
pancreatic cancer patients and their families, PanCAN currently
has volunteers and members throughout the United States and around
the world. PanCAN is the first, national public-benefit advocacy
organization for the pancreatic cancer community. The organization
works to focus national attention on the need to find a cure for
pancreatic cancer, and provides public and professional education
embracing the urgent need for more research, effective treatments,
prevention programs and early detection methods. Visit www.pancan.org
to obtain more information, e-mail info@pancan.org , or call 1-877-272-6226
.
About the NCI
The National Cancer Institute leads the National Cancer Program in
the discovery of new knowledge about the causes and mechanisms of
cancer and the development and delivery of interventions for the
prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer that
will benefit all people. Each year, the NCI provides funding for
over 5,000 principal investigators working at NCI and at nearly 700
institutions around the country and supports clinical trials involving
more than 12,000 investigators and thousands of patients at the NIH
clinical center and close to 3,000 other sites across the U.S.
###
Media Contacts:
Aaron Kiel/Jennifer
Beaver
PanCAN Public Relations
Phone: 562-983-8113 / 562-983-8117
Email: akiel@akprgroup.com
Company Contacts:
Julie Fleshman
PanCAN President & CEO
Phone: 310-725-0025
Email: jfleshman@pancan.org
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