Title:
Pancreatic Cancer: Epidemiology, Detection, Prevention, and Treatment

Contact:

Mukesh Verma, Ph.D.
Analytic Epidemiology Research Branch
Epidemiology and Genetics Research Program
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
Telephone: (301) 594-7344
E-mail: mblehar@mail.nih.gov

Objective of Project:

The proposed initiative will utilize the R21 and R03 mechanisms to promote innovative research across multiple disciplines for better understanding of the biology, etiology, detection, prevention, and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Investigators who did not have a pancreatic cancer-related research grant (from the NCI or NIH) in the past are eligible for this initiative.

Description of Project:

Carcinoma of the exocrine pancreas remains a challenging disease with poor prognosis mainly due to advanced stage by the time of presentation, the early systemic dissemination, and its extraordinary local tumor progression. Examples of appropriate research areas include, but are not limited to: examination of how variations in cells may combine with the microenvironment in the development of pancreatic cancer; development of experimental models for human pancreatic cancer; exploration of molecular pathways important in cancer biology, particularly those that could lead to novel targets for therapeutic development; preclinical studies to identify dietary components for prevention and candidate chemopreventive drug(s) and to characterize the molecular mechanism(s) of the agent’s activity; preclinical studies to identify and characterize candidate biomarkers for pancreatic cancer risk; proteomic p rofiling studies to discriminate between sera of pancreatic cancer case patients, chronic pancreatitis patients, and control subjects and which also evaluate the performance characteristics of the profiling methods; identification of genetic combinations that lead to pancreatic cancer; impact of pancreatic cancer on health-related quality of life of patients and their caregivers; epidemiology studies in pancreatic cancer; and development of early-stage clinical trials in pancreatic cancer as well as imaging studies associated with clinical trials in pancreatic cancer. The R03 and R21 mechanisms are ideal for these purposes. The R03 mechanism supportssmall research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources. The R21 mechanism is intended to encourage new exploratory and developmental research projects.