Lung Health News, Fall 2006 / Winter 2007
More people die of lung cancer than any other type of cancer. It takes more lives than colon, prostate, lymph and breast cancer combined. Thanks in part to funding from the American Lung Association of California, Ming Liu, MD, Ph.D., hopes to change that by discovering a way to block lung tumor growth.
Lung cancer is the uncontrolled growth of one or more cells in the lung. These cells never develop into healthy lung tissue, but instead become lumps of cancer cells called tumors.
Dr. Liu is investigating the role of a specific protein (COX-2) found in increased amounts in many lung tumor cells. Specifically, she is looking at two growth factors and the mechanism by which they stimulate the production of this protein.
“The big question is if we can find a way to block the COX-2 protein, can we possibly inhibit the progress of tumors,” says Dr. Liu, who is conducting her study at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
The researcher worked with lung cancer patients in medical school and was shocked by the high mortality rate. “I really felt their pain and the urgent need for better treatments,” she says.
About 175,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with lung cancer every year and 85 percent of those will die within five years of their initial diagnosis. Compare that to other cancers like breast, colon and prostate, where 25 to 35 percent will succumb to their disease.
“In the last 20 years, we haven’t seen the same advances against lung cancer as we have for other cancers,” says Dr. Liu.
Lung cancer research receives considerably less funding than other cancer research. For example, the 2005 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget included $204 million for breast and cervical cancer research, $14.6 million for colon cancer research, $14 million for prostate cancer research, and $0 for lung cancer research, according to the Lung Cancer Alliance.
While there are a variety of risk factors, including secondhand smoke, air pollution, radon and asbestos, smoking accounts for 85 to 90 percent of all cases. Although the risk of lung cancer increases with the length of time and number of cigarettes smoked, quitting smoking, even after many years, can significantly reduce your chances of developing the disease.
“I’m hoping that eventually we’ll find a way to prevent lung cancer,” says Dr. Liu.
Her project was one of 12 funded this year by the American Lung Association of California, which granted nearly $700,000 to lung disease research for fiscal year 2006-2007. For more information about other funded projects, visit www.californialung.org and click on “Research Grants.”
