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The ASCO Cancer Foundation is pleased to present a 2008 Advanced Clinical Research Award (ACRA) in Sarcoma to Scott M. Schuetze, MD, PhD, of the University of Michigan, in recognition of his contributions to research advancements in the field of sarcoma and his commitment to improving treatment approaches to the disease. The ASCO Cancer Foundation is dedicated to supporting physicians by encouraging and funding their research initiatives, and this grant will aid the discovery of important advances in the field by providing financial support for promising sarcoma research. Dr. Schuetze's ACRA is supported by the Sarcoma Foundation of America and Capon family.
Dr. Schuetze told ASCO Daily News that he was both "delighted and honored" that his proposal had been selected. In 2008, The ASCO Cancer Foundation awarded both Dr. Schuetze and Raphael F. Rousseau, MD, PhD, of Centre Léon-Bérard (supported by ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), with ACRAs in Sarcoma, and Dr. Schuetze is excited about the change the funding will hopefully catalyze. "I was extremely grateful that supporters thought the [ACRA] in Sarcoma was worth philanthropic financial support for two awards this year which, of course, provides more opportunities to study better ways to treat patients with a rare malignant disease," he said. (See today's issue of ASCO Daily News for Dr. Rousseau's profile.)
ACRAs are presented to physicians who have 5 to 10 years of experience and who are full-time faculty members in a clinical setting at an academic medical center. Dr. Schuetze will receive a 3-year grant totaling $450,000 to support original research currently not funded. He was selected for the unique, patient-oriented focus of his research proposal. Additional selection criteria included the significance and originality of his project, appropriateness and feasibility of the proposed research methods, potential significance of the research, and an applicant's record of prior research experience and accomplishment.
This grant will allow Dr. Schuetze to explore whether there is a specific molecular signature in some types of sarcomas that could be used to help preselect patients most likely to benefit from treatment with drugs blocking the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway in combination with conventional chemotherapy, such as alkylating agents.
According to Dr. Schuetze, the number of drugs with significant activity for the treatment of advanced sarcoma is limited, and he is working to develop comprehensive solutions to this problem. His clinical research effort has focused on identifying new agents with promising antisarcoma activity through participation in cooperative or multi-institutional trials. He explained that drugs targeting specific growth pathways, such as intracellular signaling through tyrosine kinases or mTOR, have modest activity in sarcoma when used alone, except for the c-kit and platelet-derived growth factor receptor inhibitors in gastrointestinal stromal tumor and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans.
"Preclinical studies suggest that combining these newer agents with more traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy may augment the antitumor activity of the newer agents," he said. "The standard chemotherapy for treatment of advanced sarcoma - doxorubicin, ifosfamide, and gemcitabine combined with docetaxel - is rather toxic to patients, and treatment is limited by cumulative toxicity." Dr. Schuetze is interested in uncovering treatments with antisarcoma activity that are "easy for patients to take, preserve good quality of life, and that can be administered over a prolonged period of time."
An interest in medicine has been with Dr. Schuetze for "as long as [he] can remember," and he told ASCO Daily News that he has always had a particular interest in and fascination for physiology. Currently, he is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan, specializing in hematology/oncology and bone/soft tissue sarcomas. He received his medical degree from the Oregon Health & Science University, and he completed his residency at Duke University Medical Center and his fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Dr. Schuetze believes he entered the field during the period of "exponential growth" in the understanding of molecular biology and the development of techniques for the manipulation of genes and proteins. He said that the molecular basis of cancer induced by virus developed his fascination with oncology in general; however, his particular interest in sarcoma developed because of the large number of sarcoma subtypes that have apparent specific molecular changes critical in the pathogenesis of disease, such as synovial sarcoma and Ewing family of tumors.
Dr. Schuetze's optimism for the future of the field guides his belief that pharmacology will become sophisticated enough to develop specific inhibitors of the oncogenic proteins. "I foresee the opportunity for significant progress in the treatment of sarcomas during my career," he said. "I also like to root for the underdog and see sarcoma as an under-recognized cancer in public awareness, public support, and research support."
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