For immediate release For more information contact
Barbara Wiedemann
919-696-0066
barbarawiedemann@mac.com
The Dave Brumitt Fund of
Triangle Community Foundation
Awards Grant for Esophageal Cancer Research
3rd Annual Frostbite Tour Set for February 25
Raleigh, N.C.---A team of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central University will study the causes and prevention of esophageal cancer thanks in part to the first grant from The Dave Brumitt Fund of Triangle Community Foundation.
Dr. Xiaoxin Chen from NCCU’s Julius Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute and Dr. Nicholas Shaheen from the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center are the two lead investigators in the study. It will explore the effect of aspirin on genes that help check cell growth and tumor development.
"Understanding how pre-cancerous conditions become esophageal cancer can help us identify opportunities for prevention, perhaps with something as common as aspirin," says Dr. Chen, a basic scientist who recently joined NCCU from Rutgers University. "This study gives us the chance to bring together laboratory and clinical knowledge from two Research Triangle institutions to work on an important problem," says Dr. Shaheen, a physician and researcher from UNC Chapel Hill.
The research will cost $70,000 and the scientists hope it will lay the groundwork for a large, prospective clinical trial to evaluate prevention strategies.
In partnership with a grant from the National Cancer Institute, the two university research centers have committed $60,000 between them to this initial study. The grant from The Dave Brumitt Fund contributed the final $10,000.
For more detailed scientific information about the research study, please see this summary of the investigators’ research proposal.
The grant comes as plans are now final for the 3rd annual Frostbite Tour, the bike ride through Johnston and Wake Counties that raises money for The Dave Brumitt Fund. The fund, which is administered by the Triangle Community Foundation, raises awareness of gastroesophageal cancer and funds research into the causes and treatments of the disease.
The Dave Brumitt Fund of Triangle Community Foundation was founded to honor Dave Brumitt, an avid cyclist who died in Raleigh in 2003 from esophageal cancer at the age of 58.
This year’s ride will be held Saturday, February 25 and starts at 9:00 a.m. at Archer Lodge near Clayton in Johnston County.
“It’s especially exciting to think about this year’s ride on the heels of this grant to fund research at UNC and NCCU,” said Mike Dayton, area cyclist and a ride organizer. “Participating in the ride is a tangible way we can honor Dave and help fight this deadly form of cancer.”
For more information on the ride and to register to participate, please visit www.frostbitetour.org