September 17, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center has been named as one of only four federal Centers for Nutrient and Gene Interaction in Cancer Prevention (CNGI). Noted UAB soy researcher Stephen Barnes, Ph.D., will be director of the new center, which will be funded with $10.4 million by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Other institutions receiving funding are Harvard University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

The CNGI program is a new initiative of the NCI, the nation's principal source of cancer research funds. Two of UAB's three initial center projects will focus on the role played by compounds in dietary soy, green tea and wine in preventing cells in the breast and prostate from developing into cancer tumors. The third will look at how scientists can effectively analyze the tremendous amounts of data becoming available with new technology based on the Human Genome Project.

UAB faculty members will lead two projects with collaboration from scientists at the universities of Missouri-Rolla and Pennsylvania; an epidemiologist at the Northern California Cancer Center will lead a third project.

Barnes, internationally known for his research on the properties of dietary soy that may prevent breast and prostate cancer, said, "Our ability to study genes and proteins has improved dramatically in recent years, so we are now trying to understand how they interact with substances in the environment, such as the food we eat and drink. Our group particularly has expertise in the chemopreventive aspects of a class of soy, green tea and wine compounds called polyphenols, so much of this center will involve how those interact with cells in breast and prostate tissue."

He explained, "There may be factors — perhaps how we lead our lives or the way we eat or drink — that actually alter the way cells with cancer potential move along the path to become a tumor. We all have cancer cells that might progress to a tumor, but it's not called cancer unless it either starts to spread through the body (metastasis) or becomes big enough that you or your doctor can tell that you have it."

The three projects included in the CNGI are:

• Investigation of the role of polyphenols found in soy, green tea and red wine in animal models. Coral Lamartiniere, Ph.D., will direct this project, along with Clinton Grubbs, Ph.D., of UAB and Lewis Chodosh, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania.
  
  
• Project II, called "Growth and Lifestyle" will track 350 Asian-American girls ages 10 to 13. Researchers will examine how and if diet influences growth and gene expression, and if what we eat during major growth spurts (such as puberty) determines our risk for cancer later. Pamela Horn-Ross, Ph.D., of the Northern California Cancer Center will direct this project, along with Barnes and Dr. Lisa Guay-Woodford of UAB.
  
  
• Project III will focus on the development and evaluation of new statistical procedures to help scientists interpret the massive amounts of data that will be generated by the three projects. David Allison, Ph.D., will design this experiment and direct the overall effort; it will be implemented and analyzed by UAB's Comprehensive Cancer Center's statistical core facility led by Seng-jaw Soong, Ph.D.

The UAB Cancer Center already has two large research initiatives in the field of chemoprevention. Dr. Samuel Beenken directs the Cancer Center Chemoprevention program and Grubbs leads the Chemoprevention Center. Barnes is also the associate director of the Purdue/UAB Botanicals Center for Age-Related Diseases, which examines the role of herbal remedies and dietary supplements for cancer and other diseases.

UAB's Cancer Center is Alabama's only "comprehensive" cancer center as designated by the National Cancer Institute.