Cancer research is a $200 billion enterprise, yet the nation is still plagued by the disease, as more than 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed with some form of cancer each year.
More than a third do not survive.
In an effort to promote interest in researching cures and preventative measures against this deadly disease, on Friday, University of Central Arkansas initiated a student cancer research symposium. A presidential lecture was given by Dr. LuZhe Sun, a professor at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio who is top U.S. cancer research scientist in the nation.
In a hall filled with UCA students, Dr. Sun discussed the importance of cancer research.
"As the death rate from heart disease decreases among Americans, the death rates for those with cancer has remained fairly steady," he said. "The top forms of new cancer cases each year are prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. Each year cancer kills over half a million Americans."
Sun discussed some of the top advances in cancer treatments in recent years including development of a drug called Gleevec, which treats Leukemia by stopping a cancer-producing enzyme in cells. He also talked about the characteristics that make cancer cells different from normal cells and risk factors for prostate cancer, which is one of his research interests.
"Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer found in men over 55 in the United States," he said.
Other risk factors are smoking, diet and race, as African-Americans are more prone to the disease. Sun said research has found that diets high in animal fat increase the risk of prostate cancer, while diets high in fresh fruits and vegetables reduce the risk.
The UCA Student Cancer Research Symposium was the brainchild of Dr. Wen Wang, assistant professor of physical therapy.
She said, "It has been my passion, since I was a teen, to find out why people get cancer and why they die from it."
Wang and Sun were colleagues at UT Health Science Center and continue their collaboration today.
Wang is a physician with a doctorate in physiology and cell biology, and teaches basic science courses for UCA physical therapy students. She also supervises several student researchers in studies regarding cancer treatment and prevention.
As a part of a grant Wang received from the university research council, she proposed beginning a research symposium that would bring a nationally recognized cancer researcher to campus to lecture each year.
Dr. Neil Hattlestad, Dean of the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, said, "Dr. Wang and her colleagues in the sciences here at UCA are certainly doing their part in the search for the cure for cancer. Their involvement of students in their work is particularly important because they are preparing the next generation of cancer researchers," Hattlestad said.
The UCA Student Cancer Research Symposium was co-hosted by the College of Health and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
