College of Medicine Catalog
2005
David A. Alberts, M.D., Director
The Arizona Cancer Center is a part of a small, prestigious network of comprehensive cancer centers officially designated by the National Cancer Institute. Established in 1976, the Center's mission is to prevent and cure cancer through excellence in patient care, research and education. To accomplish this, the center has several basic and translational clinical research programs attacking the cancer problem on all levels. These include immunobiology, cancer cell metastatsis and signaling, cancer prevention and control, cancer imaging and technology, therapeutic development, and molecular genetics. In addition, several research programs focus on specific types of cancer including, gastrointestinal cancers, prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma and neuro-oncology, leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.
Arizona Cancer Center faculty have been involved with planning educational, clinical and
scientific activities. The Center's commitments have included educational programs for
medical and graduate students as well as teaching of practitioners and allied health
professionals at local and national continuing medical education programs. Members of the
Arizona Cancer Center are involved in the teaching of a number of graduate programs
available at the University of Arizona, including the cancer biology training program, and
the College of Public Health. As part of the required curricula of medical students,
individual lectures in cancer education are presented in the Departments of Biochemistry,
Molecular and Cellular Biology, Microbiology and Immunology, Pathology and Pharmacology.
The Arizona Cancer Center is the leading resource for cancer care in the state. The
Center's large New Therapeutics Program has more than 50 phase I and II clinical trials
available for patients who have failed standard therapies. The clinical oncology research
programs of the Arizona Cancer Center have continued to draw an increasing cancer patient
volume to the Arizona Health Sciences Center.
Interdisciplinary cancer research expertise is continually developed campus-wide, and
expanded in numerous clinical and laboratory programs that are directed at improving the
prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Basic research activities focus on
medicinal chemistry, cancer cell and molecular biology; molecular genetics; DNA microarray
and proteomic technology; carcinogenesis, cancer cell signaling mechanisms, adhesion and
metastasis. Translational research to improve cancer therapeutics includes the study of
radiation; stereotactic radiosurgery; biological modifiers; cancer vaccines; gene therapy;
bone marrow transplantation; the discovery and development of new cancer drugs; clinical
pharmacology of anticancer drugs; and new diagnostic and evaluation techniques using
cancer imaging. In addition clinical trials of promising approaches to cancer prevention,
diagnosis and treatment are offered to patients with cancer and those at increased risk
for cancer.
2006 College of Medicine
Catalog Table of Contents