Last modified: Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Multidisciplinary life sciences project targets ovarian, breast cancers
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Researchers at Indiana University, Ohio State University and the University of Missouri have begun a five-year, $8 million project that will help doctors better understand the damage caused by breast and ovarian cancers.
Funded by the National Cancer Institute, the project will bring together clinical and basic science cancer researchers at the IU School of Medicine and the IU Cancer Center in Indianapolis and the Medical Sciences Program in Bloomington, as well as IU biostatisticians and biomedical informaticians who specialize in organizing biological and medical information.
"The purpose of this project is to capitalize on all the human genome data and powerful bioinformatics approaches out there," said IU cancer biologist Kenneth Nephew, who is leading one of the cancer project's four parts. "In the end, we believe our work will lead to better therapies for ovarian and breast cancer patients."
The researchers will study the genetic and molecular consequences of DNA modifications for the purpose of developing better predictive models for ovarian and breast cancer.
Ovarian cancer, despite its relative rarity, is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
To speak with Kenneth Nephew or other IU project researchers, please contact Mary Hardin, IU School of Medicine Public & Media Relations, at 317-274-7722 or mhardin@iupui.edu.
