SU2C Grant Funds Promising USC Cancer Research

A grant awarded three years ago by Stand Up To Cancer,a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation,is having a positive effect on research at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and USC Norris Cancer Hospital,Los Angeles.Five Dream Teams of researchers received the initial funding from S^2C.
We've made great progress.We could be looking at some major breakthroughs,said Peter Jones,PhD,DSc,Director of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Distinguished Professor at the Keck School of Medicine.
The researchers have been studying epigenetic therapy and cancer management in cancers of the lung,breast,colon and blood.Epigenetic research examines the way genes are switched on and off,and how this results in cancer.
The S^2C grant is being shared with the Johns Hopkins University Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center,Baltimore.It has brought together clinicians and basic scientists for the first time at USC,providing a framework for thinking collaboratively about how to bring lab discoveries to the clinical setting.
The USC research has yielded promising new approaches in clinical trials that combine epigenetic therapy with immunotherapy and/or chemotherapy for a better patient response to treatment.
Founded in 2008,Stand Up To Cancer has awarded 109 million dollars for 33 grants,funding 350 scientists.It aims to accelerate innovative cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now.