In 1995, the University Medical Center had one investigator in the field of prostate cancer research, the most common type of cancer for men and the second most deadly.
Today the Medical Center has 17 researchers in the field and has received a $20 million gift that Urology Department Chairman William D. Steers has termed "the fruits of the department's long-term developmental process."
The grant is the largest ever to the Medical Center.
The funds are from the estate of noted philanthropist Paul Mellon. Urology Prof. Jay Y. Gillenwater treated Mellon for prostate cancer in 1995.
Gillenwater said Mellon was grateful for changes made in his treatment which allowed him to feel "remarkably better" until his death in 1999 of unrelated causes.
Steers said the "the gift amounts to various pots of money to establish a center at the University and recruit new researchers."
The grant is the fourth largest in the history of the University, but Steers said it has the potential to become the largest.
It is merely the first stage of a grant from the Mellon Foundation and may grow to fulfill the Medical Center's full request of $47 million if the new center can demonstrate concrete results in the next five years.
Microbiology Prof. Michael J. Weber, the interim co-director of the new center, said the gift is designated for three main purposes.
The first objective is to solidify the University's research base on prostate cancer. Weber explained that only 10 to 20 percent of people with prostate cancer need aggressive treatment, but doctors have not found a way to distinguish those who need treatment from those who don't.
The second goal is to find a treatment for victims with advanced stages of the disease. When it first infects someone, prostate cancer relies on testosterone to survive. It can often be successfully treated at this stage with anti-hormones. But if it recurs or reaches an advanced stage it does not require testosterone to spread, and doctors have no way to treat it.
The third focus of the new center will be trying to understand the tendency of prostate cancer to spread through the bloodstream into the bones of victims. Because it does not stay localized, it often is impossible to operate and remove the growth.
Weber also said researchers desperately need new lab and clinic space to study the disease.
Steers said the grant will have a "tremendous effect that will permeate the whole University."
He explained that $3 million of the grant is earmarked for seed grants and will be spread to researchers in departments such as cell biology and biochemistry who have creative ideas for treating prostate cancer.
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