Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i and John A. Burns School of Medicine
Scientist Wins Prestigious Inaugural Landon Award for
International Collaboration in Cancer Research
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April 2008
The American Association for Cancer Research awarded the Inaugural Landon Foundation-AACR Innovator Award for International Collaboration in Cancer Research to a team of researchers led by Michele Carbone, M.D., Ph.D, Director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i Thoracic Oncology Program and Chair of Pathology at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Dr. Carbone received the award during the Opening Ceremony of the AACR Annual Meeting on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at the San Diego Convention Center. The award provides a two-year, $100,000 grant to support the work of promising cancer researchers.
Carbone’s team of experts in genetics, thoracic oncology, geology and pathology has discovered a unique mesothelioma epidemic in three Turkish villages. They have demonstrated that the epidemic is caused by an interaction between a human gene and the environment. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer where malignant cells develop in the protective lining that covers most of the body's internal organs.
Carbone and colleagues have identified that exposure to erionite, a mineral fiber, is the likely cause of the epidemic. They have reduced exposure to that mineral fiber throughout the villages. They will use the AACR Innovator grant to identify the predisposing gene or genes for mesothelioma among this ethnic group and map the genetic risk factors by genetic linkage studies.
Findings from this research have implications far beyond the villages in Turkey. They can be applied to other geographic areas and communities worldwide, with the goal of preventing this deadly form of cancer or finding new life-saving interventions and treatments.
The award supports highly meritorious research being conducted collaboratively by investigators in different countries around the world, and aims to promote international cancer research collaboration as an effective means to accelerate progress against cancer by providing the necessary support to sustain and enhance such collaborations.
Dr. Carbone’s team includes Haining Yang, Ph.D., of the University of Hawai‘i. Also on the team are Nancy Cox, Ph.D., and Ian Steele, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago; Harvey Pass, M.D. of the NYU School of Medicine and Clinical Cancer Center; Joseph Testa, Ph.D., of the Fox Chase Cancer Center; Y. Izzetin Baris, M.D., of the University of Hacettepe in Ankara, Turkey; A. Umran Dogan, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa; and Salih Emri, M.D., and Murat Tuncer, M.D., of the Hacettepe University School of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey.
"International collaborations are essential to addressing the cancer problem on a global scale. To ensure continued progress in conquering cancer, researchers must be willing to share resources and technologies, lend expertise and communicate new concepts, perspectives and methodologies to the worldwide cancer community," said Margaret Foti, M.D., Ph.D., AACR’s chief executive officer. "The work of Dr. Carbone and his team illustrates a commitment to all of these goals and it is a pleasure to recognize him and his team by providing much needed support for promising research that spans two continents," Foti said.