What
We're Doing in our Laboratories to Meet the Challenges of Prostate Cancer
 |
Our research
facilities are
located in Lewis Hall,
on the
Eastern Virginia Medical Center campus |
Most of the research practiced at the
Center is referred to as "translational research." For example, a clinician and
a research scientist might discuss a particular problem, such as how to improve the early
diagnosis of prostate cancer. A research plan is formulated and set into motion with the
initial studies being conducted in the research laboratory.
Once a diagnostic test is
developed, its use can be rapidly translated from the laboratory bench to the clinic, or
as some would say, from bench to bedside. One of the major benefits of translational
research is the speed with which new developments go from laboratory to clinic.
Simply put, translational research is a type of feedback
system. Scientists working in their laboratories make discoveries that doctors can use to
diagnose and treat their patients; the doctors report their findings back to the
scientists who use the information to enhance their investigations. Patients are thus
assured of receiving the latest diagnostic tools and treatments available in the United
States.
Much of the Center's work has focused on the
identification of specific molecules in prostate cancer cells. This process could lead to
improved diagnosis and patient evaluation, and help develop new strategies for therapy. No
easy task, because prostate cancer is slow growing, difficult to culture outside the body,
and influenced by a hormonal environment.
To date, the Center has achieved national and
international recognition for its work generating monoclonal antibodies for use in
prostate cancer research. (Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies produced from a single
immune cell or lymphocyte that recognize or bind to a specific molecule or antigen of the
tumor cell.) One of these is a mucin molecule, a large glycoprotein (a carbohydrate
attached to a protein) that has been associated with animal and human metastatic cancer.
In addition to monoclonal antibody research, the Center has ongoing studies to examine
prostate cancer from other perspectives. Promising avenues being explored include the
evaluation of investigational drugs and the development of prostate cancer vaccines.
Top |
