$860K Challenge Grant Supports NJ Study On Prostate Cancer

Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology;  Urology / Nephrology
Article Date: 20 Oct 2009 - 15:00 PDT

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Grace Lu-Yao, PhD, MPH, cancer epidemiologist at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) and associate professor of medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has been awarded an $860,173 research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

The funding (1RC1CA0145722-01), which is part of the Challenge Grant Program through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will support a two-year study on clinical outcomes for elderly patients with prostate cancer, following the two most commonly used treatment options: deferred treatment and radiation therapy. Some 21,000 applicants responded to the NIH Challenge Grant announcement. Dr. Lu-Yao's study, "Evaluate long-term prognosis of localized prostate cancer following initial radiation therapy" was among the one to two percent funded through the program.

Investigators aim to define the prognosis of elderly patients with localized prostate cancer, in terms of overall and disease-specific survival, subsequent use of cancer therapies, and serious cancer-related complications, following radiation therapy compared to conservative management.

Lu-Yao, who also is an adjunct associate professor of epidemiology at UMDNJ-School of Public Health, says it is an honor to receive the grant and predicts the results will have profound impact on clinical practice. "The findings of this study will provide benchmark references to facilitate treatment decision-making. Reduction in over-treatment of prostate cancer will result in substantial savings while improving the quality of life of millions of patients," she noted.

The two-year award period runs through September 29, 2011.

Source
Cancer Institute of New Jersey