EMILY REID/Arizona Daily Wildcat Professor of radiation oncology and cancer biology Eugene Gerner observes a student performing research yesterday in the UMC Cancer Center. The Arizona Cancer Center Gastrointestinal Cancer Program was just awarded a five-year $11.8 million research grant, for which Gerner is the principal investigator.

Cancer patients may soon have new options for treating and preventing gastrointestinal cancers because of research being done at the Arizona Cancer Center at the Arizona Health Sciences Center.

"We want to be able to answer questions like: ÎAt what age should you have a colonoscopy? How often should you get one? And should you be on preventative treatment?'" said Dr. Eugene Gerner, principal investigator of the research.

The research focuses on three specific types of gastrointestinal cancers ÷ colon cancer, pancreatic cancer and esophageal cancer ÷ with the ultimate goal of taking laboratory findings and "translating" them into treatments and applications.

One cancer cause that researchers are trying to address is proteins that do not function properly.

"In general, we are working to identify genes, and the proteins they encode, that are abnormally expressed in GI cancers, and then develop drugs that reverse this abnormal expression," Gerner said.

One specific example is thioredoxin-1, a protein expressed abnormally in GI cancers. Researchers have conducted extensive basic testing and have developed a drug to inhibit this undesired protein in cell and animal models.

If researchers can develop drugs like these and they can be used safely in humans, then the drugs can be evaluated for their effectiveness and used widely on patients soon.

"With research, there are no guarantees," Gerner said.

He created the proposal for a recently announced $11.8 million federal grant from the National Cancer Institute that will allow for a massive collaboration of 13 departments, 41 faculty members, six colleges and two advocates.

"(The proposal) was considered by the peer review committee as the most innovative and scientifically sound from the group of applicants. According to the reviewers, the SPORE application represents one of the best translational research groups in the country," said Dr. Jorge Gomez, Chief of the Organ Systems Center at the National Cancer Institute.

Gerner's grant, the Specialized Program of Research Excellence, is one of only four in the country and the second- largest ever received by the Arizona Cancer Center.

The grant will go toward five major projects Gerner is coordinating.

One way determine to what extent researchers can use variations in subjects' genetic codes to predict the likelihood of cancer.

Different ethnic groups seem to have differing rates of different types of cancers. For example, American Indians appear less susceptible to GI cancer.

But concerns have arisen that if insurance companies find out from tests or data on ethnic groups who is likely to develop serious cancer, companies could charge premiums or drop coverage.

To discourage insurance companies from exploiting any data gathered on patients during the process, advocacy groups and legislators will be involved in promoting legislation aimed at preventing discrimination.

Another area researchers will focus on is developing imaging methods that will allow detection of GI cancers at earlier stages and with better accuracy.

Also, they want to combine surgery and chemical interventions to effectively prevent the occurrence of a lethal form of esophageal cancer.

For colon and pancreatic cancers, researchers aim to develop new target-directed therapies.

Much of the research couldn't have been possible without the recent grant, Gerner said.