Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center Receives Major Research Funding

The U.S. Congress directed $1.5 million in cancer research funding to the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center as part of the Department of Defense appropriations for the current fiscal year.

This critical new funding will allow doctors and researchers at Lincoln- based Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center to develop new, more effective treatments for cancer patients based on their molecular profile. This funding is expected to be signed into law soon.

"This research will help us identify genomic sequence changes associated with cancer in individual patients," said Dr. Mark Carlson with the Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center.

"Our hope for the future is that your doctor can run a simple test on a small tumor sample and use a quick genetic analysis to tailor the best therapy for you as an individual," explains Dr. Carlson.

"It looks increasingly promising that this form of genetic testing will improve development of cancer therapy and help more people survive cancer."

"Cancer is a very complex disease that will kill over 560,000 Americans this year," explains Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.

"This research will link cancer research around the country and potentially revolutionize the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer," Fortenberry said in announcing the research funding.

"We are pleased that Nebraska will help explore how physicians can use this information to save lives," Fortenberry adds.

"It is a great opportunity for our local medical community to work together on new ideas in cancer therapy. For the seriously ill, we will create access to the latest research ideas in a hometown setting."

The Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center will use the funds to create a local network to collect cancer tissue samples from patients and follow these patients' progress through therapy.

Information will be merged into a massive nationwide database that will help physicians make personalized cancer treatment decisions.

The program also uses a "systems biology" approach that brings together advanced science in pharmaceuticals, molecular biology, genetic screening, bio-informatics systems and other technology.

"This program will be very meaningful in Nebraska," adds Tracy Christianson, Director of Research, Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center.

"The latest figures indicate that more than 8,000 new cases of invasive cancer will be diagnosed among our state's citizens."

"Sadly, we will experience nearly 3,500 deaths, based on these estimates. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in Nebraska, after heart disease."

"This research will help us make faster progress in solving a critical health issue for our state and our country."

While great strides have been made in cancer research, says Christianson, more must be done.

"We can now study tens of thousands of variations at a time, rather than focus on single genes. We can open new frontiers in medical knowledge for new cures, faster, and more effectively than ever before," she added.

The Southeast Nebraska Cancer Center is a unique participant in this program, Christianson adds.

"The other participants are large medical research institutions around the country," she explains.

"Our center is the only local physician's clinic in the program. We are the pioneer in launching this diagnostic innovation into a local medical community. What we learn will be the model nationally."

"Our main goal in doing clinical trials is to offer our patient's the latest options in cancer treatment."

"Our clinical study program matches very well with this effort to implement the latest innovations in using genetics to diagnose the most effective treatment alternatives."