The Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) has announced funding to help hunt for clues to cure and better treat a rare form of blood cancer, mantle cell lymphoma. The nine institutions recently named are part of an overall $12.8 million funding initiative the foundation announced in December. A total of 18 research grants will be provided. UNMC will receive a three-year grant totaling $890,000. Lymphoma is the most common blood cancer and the third most common cancer of childhood.
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Timothy Greiner, M.D. |
The project at UNMC will be conducted under the leadership of Timothy Greiner, M.D., associate professor in the department of pathology and microbiology, in collaboration with co- investigator Judith Christman, Ph.D., professor and chairperson of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology. Dr. Greiner’s project will use DNA technology to study how some genes are turned off in mantle cell lymphoma.
Knowledge of these genes may lead to effective therapies for the disease.
“Through research funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by Dr. John Chan of UNMC, we have previously characterized the abnormal gene expression pattern in mantle cell lymphoma,” Dr. Greiner said. “Now we hope to determine one of the processes that cause this pattern, which lets the lymphoma cells grow unchecked.”
Dr. Greiner has been researching lymphoma at UNMC since 1993. “This grant will allow us to take our research to the next level in understanding mantle cell lymphoma,” he said.
More than 500,000 Americans are affected by some form of lymphoma — either non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) or Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL). Each year, another 61,000 new cases are diagnosed and nearly 25,000 people die from the disease. Lymphoma is the most common cancer of the lymphatic system and the fifth most common form of cancer in the U.S. The overall five-year survival rate is only 55 percent.
Mantle cell lymphoma is a relatively uncommon B-cell lymphoma, which accounts for 5 to 7 percent of all adult non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cases in the U.S. It is a malignancy of cells located in the mantle zone of the lymph node, a thin area surrounding individual follicles. Mantle cell lymphoma, which predominantly affects older males, was first well-defined 20 years ago by Dennis Weisenburger, M.D., professor in the department of pathology and microbiology at UNMC, Dr. Greiner said.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, also known as Hodgkin’s disease, is a less common form of lymphoma. The overall five-year survival rate is 84 percent. Hodgkin’s lymphoma occurs mainly in young adults, with a peak occurrence between ages 16 and 34. Older patients, especially those over age 55, may also develop HL.
Funding for the $12.8 million initiative was made possible through an anonymous donation to the foundation by a New York-based family. For a full listing of all the institutions which received funding, please visit the news section of the LRF Web site at www.lymphoma.org.
To date, LRF has funded more than $9 million in lymphoma research. People affected by lymphoma can receive free personalized information tailored to their diagnosis, help with finding a clinical trial, and easy-to-understand information on lymphoma, current treatments, and promising research by calling 800-500-9976, e-mailing helpline@lymphoma.org, or visiting the www.lymphoma.org Web site.
“We appreciate the efforts of the Lymphoma Research Foundation in raising funds to further lymphoma research,” Dr. Greiner said. “We’re hopeful that our research project will allow us to be successful in better treating this disease.”