Philadelphia -- Frank J. Rauscher III, Ph.D., head of The Wistar Institute's Molecular Genetics Program, has been awarded a $224,000 two-year grant from the American Cancer Society. The funds will be used to support his research into the genetic causes of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS), a highly malignant tumor found most often in the skeletal muscles of children.
Dr. Rauscher and his Wistar research team believe that ARMS results from the unnatural fusion of what scientists call the PAX3 and FKHR genes. In this combination, they appear to act as an oncogene, which is a gene with the potential to cause cancer.
In the laboratory, Dr. Rauscher has successfully created a PAX3 repressor protein that interferes with the development of malignant tumors. He also has developed cell lines that are making it possible for the research team to identify and analyze the PAX3 and FKHR genes in order to determine their precise roles in the development of ARMS. Their findings are expected to provide new information and strategies for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of ARMS.
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service. Last year, the American Cancer Society contributed $93.3 million dollars to research facilities throughout the country.
The Wistar Institute, established in 1892, was the first independent medical research facility in the country. For more than 100 years, Wistar scientists have been making history and improving world health through their development of vaccines for diseases that include rabies, German measles, infantile gastroenteritis (rotavirus), and cytomegalovirus; discovery of molecules like interleukin-12, which are helping the immune system fight bacteria, parasites, viruses and cancer; and location of genes that contribute to the development of diseases like breast, lung and prostate cancer. Wistar is a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center.