(August 27, 2008 – OAKLAND, CA) As a young physician in training, Philippe Montgrain, MD, watched lung cancer patients suffer with little hope of recovery. Today he and other scientists are conducting research to find better treatments – and possibly even cures – for diseases like lung cancer, asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and tuberculosis thanks to funds they received through the American Lung Association of California’s research program, which recently granted $816,000 for lung disease research.
“I am on a mission to improve the odds for people with lung cancer,” said Dr. Mongrain, one of 13 researchers funded by the American Lung Association of California in fiscal year 2008-2009.
The association awarded $451,000 through its peer-reviewed scientific research program, which funds basic research. Every year the American Lung Association of California reviews applications from researchers and nursing students across the state and grants up to $50,000 to research projects that meet its guidelines and up to $6,000 to master’s level nursing students who are pursuing careers in pulmonary care.
“For lung diseases that we still don’t have effective treatments for, like lung cancer, basic research holds the answer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in this country,” said Timothy Morris, MD, chair of the American Lung Association of California’s Research Administrative Committee. “Medications we take for granted today were all discovered through basic research.”
A total of $365,000 went to support the American Lung Association’s nationwide network of 20 Asthma Clinical Research Centers, including one at the University of California, San Diego. It is the country’s largest not-for-profit network of clinical research centers dedicated to asthma.
Researchers at the Asthma Clinical Research Center in San Diego are involved in several national studies on asthma. They are currently enrolling children with asthma in a study that will examine the effects of acid reflux on the chronic disease. Researchers just finished enrolling people with asthma for a study to determine whether taking antibiotics along with regularly prescribed medications will help those who also experience chronic lung infections. They are hoping to report results in early 2010. Another ongoing study is looking at the use of inhaled corticosteroids and whether guidelines should be changed regarding dosages.
Better Treatments Needed
“There is little we can offer lung cancer patients in the way of effective therapies,” said Dr. Montgrain, who is a pulmonologist at the University of California, San Diego, and at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, where he also conducts his research.
He is studying a protein called parathyroid hormone-related protein, produced by about two-thirds of lung cancers. This protein slows tumor growth in mice and prolongs survival in humans. However, this survival benefit is only seen in women.
“More women who never smoked get lung cancer than men who never smoked,” Dr. Montgrain said. “Women who smoke are at higher risk for developing lung cancer than men who had smoked the same number of cigarettes. That said, women with lung cancer have better outcomes, live longer and respond better to certain therapies.”
It may be that gender dictates survival rates because male hormones seem to inhibit the production of this protein. Dr. Montgrain is trying to determine whether suppressing the male hormone testosterone increases the amount of this protein and slows tumor growth.
“I am hoping this study will lead to new therapies that can slow tumor growth and improve outcomes for our patients with this terrible disease,” he said.
Other funded studies focus on lung injury, pulmonary hypertension, infection and the immune system response. The American Lung Association of California launched its research program in 1958 and in the last decade alone has granted more than $8 million in California.
This year’s Research Grants include:
Kamran Atabai, MD, at the University of California, San Francisco, is examining how a protein facilitates the removal of cells that are killed off in response to a lung injury in hopes of developing better treatments for fibrosis.
Hui Dong, MD, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Diego, is studying cell mechanisms that could lead to the narrowing of the arteries that occurs in people with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension so new treatments could be developed that target the molecules controlling those mechanisms.
Anthony Gerber, MD, at the University of California, San Francisco, is trying to determine how steroids, commonly used to treat asthma, affects the smooth muscle in the lungs to identify new medications for better control of symptoms with fewer adverse effects.
Celia Goulding, Ph.D., at the University of California, Irvine, is examining the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and the pathways that feed them the iron they need to survive so new drugs could be developed that target these pathways.
Mark Looney, MD, at the University of California, San Francisco, is studying acute lung injury caused by the transfusion of blood products, focusing on an immune cell that may be the source of injury to find new ways to treat this devastating syndrome.
Susan Lynch, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Francisco, is identifying the types of bacteria present when people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience flare ups to determine the role they play in the disease.
Douglas Miniati, MD, at the University of California, San Francisco, is investigating a gene that may be responsible for masses of abnormal blood vessels that can grow in the lungs so preemptive therapies could be developed for patients who are at risk of developing these masses.
This year’s Research Training Fellowships include:
Ethan Corcoran, MD, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Francisco, is studying the critical role of T-cells in the body’s immune system to determine how they are activated so that existing medications could be used more effectively and new ones could be developed.
Andrew Melton, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, is examining a protein that protects against excessive immune system responses, like those seen with asthma, and the mechanisms that regulate it to find new treatments for controlling asthma.
Allison Miller, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, is investigating the role of a protein in lung cells, which help keep the lungs free from infection, in the colonization of a common airborne fungus to gain insight into the fungus and the immune response it generates.
Philippe Montgrain, MD, at the University of California, San Diego, is studying a hormone-related protein produced by about two-thirds of lung cancers, which slows tumor growth in mice and prolongs survival in women, to determine why it produces different results in men and women.
AKM Shamsuddin, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Diego, is examining the small airways and the transport of surface fluid, which protects the lungs from infection, to find new treatments for lung diseases associated with defects in this mechanism.
Ping-Hui Tseng, Ph.D., at the University of California, San Diego, is investigating proteins in the immune system that recognize infectious threats to the lungs but can also cause damage so that new therapies can be discovered that block the undesired response without affecting the proteins’ benefits.
The American Lung Association of California also awarded a Pulmonary Nurse Scholarship to Yun Long Ong, RN, at the University of California, Los Angeles. Highly trained pulmonary nurses are critical to the specialized care needed by lung disease patients.
For more information about the American Lung Association’s research program, go to www.californialung.org/research
For more than 100 years, the American Lung Association has been the lead organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease death rates continue to increase while other leading causes of death have declined. The American Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung Association is “Improving life, one breath at a time.” For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 800.LUNG.USA (800.586.4872) or visit www.californialung.org or www.lungusa.org.
