PMC Laboratory Solely Dedicated to Researching Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Wow! What a terrific year we have had at The Pacific Meso Center (PMC) at The Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (PHLBI). Thanks to the support of our friends and families, including generous contributions from The Asbestos Legal Center in San Francisco and Roger G. Worthington P.C., we are pleased to report that our new laboratory at 10780 Santa Monica Boulevard has opened.
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The Pacific Meso Center Mesothelioma Research Laboratory Pictured from left to right: Marko Kostic, MSc, |
This has been a year of significant strides in our mission of establishing a research facility to improve mesothelioma victims’ lives and longevity. As the equipment begins to be installed in our laboratory, and our researchers get geared up to start work on several important and exciting projects, we feel very confident in building this foundation to make some significant breakthroughs in fighting malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), an asbestos related cancer.
The Pacific Meso Center’s research activities are currently supporting research being performed by Robert B. Cameron M.D, Dongmei Hou, PhD, Warren Grundfest, MD and collaborators, Saroj Basak, PhD, Sherven Sharma, PhD and Robert Strieter MD. In addition to these scientists there is also an active international group of collaborators who share in the vision of PMC, an open collaborative effort both in basic and translational science, to bring the best therapeutics to the benefits of our patients.
Our first research project will focus on stromal cells which are the connective tissue cells of organs. The interaction between stromal cells and tumor cells is known to play a major role in cancer growth and progression. These cells can be used as a “Trojan Horse” to deliver effective anti-cancer protein therapeutics directly into the growing mesothelioma, to kill or inhibit its growth. The initial study will be using a concept to determine whether stromal cells will deliver proteins of interest, i.e. cytokines or chemokines. This study is unique to the institute and may represent a huge breakthrough in mesothelioma research.
Our second research project will focus on cryotherapy:
Studies by Dr. Robert Cameron at the Pacific Meso Center have shown that mesothelioma cancer cells are sensitive to cold. This susceptibility to freezing suggests that cancer cells remaining after resections may be killed using cold gases to freeze the surface lining of the chest cavity. This research will investigate the potential use of cryotherapy, cooling the lining of the lung cavity to reduce or eliminate the remaining cancer cells that cause recurrence after the resection. The project requires the development of the cryo sprayer device that allows the controlled application of cold liquid nitrogen to the surface of the chest cavity. Liquid nitrogen is used because it causes instant freezing of the surface and then it evaporates producing a thin layer of frozen tissue. This therapy will hopefully lead to improved outcomes after mesothelioma resections.
GRAND OPENING!
Watch out for our Grand Opening celebration of our new laboratory in early 2012! We will be sending out invitations to the launch and would love you to join us so you can meet the scientists and see first hand what they are doing and trying to achieve. We believe that we are on the precipice of making some real strides with this dreadful disease. However, we need your help to continue to fund our research scientists and to purchase new equipment.
HAVE A PIECE OF LABORATORY EQUIPMENT NAMED IN YOUR HONOR!
Have a piece of laboratory equipment named in your honor! We will honor your donation with a plaque in the lab. It is simple. You can donate here or send a check to PHLBI, 10780 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 101, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Call Clare Cameron at (310)-478-4678 for further information.
And with the help of the mesothelioma community, as our research dollars roll in we have other exciting research opportunities in the pipeline, which are a part of Dr. Cameron’s commitment to be a world leader in researching MPM.
