LCRF to donate $25,000 for lung cancer studies at TGen

Lung Cancer Research Foundation already planning follow-up for 2011

Following its first major Arizona fundraising event, the national Lung Cancer Research Foundation will donate $25,000 for lung cancer studies at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

The first Strides for Life-Arizona event, held April 11 near Tempe Town Lake, drew 175 participants to a family-friendly 3-mile fun run-walk and children's dash.

It was so successful, the New York-based Lung Cancer Research Foundation already has scheduled its 2nd annual Arizona fundraiser at the same location, Tempe Arts Park, at 7:30 a.m. April 10, 2011.

"We were thrilled with the turnout and success of our inaugural Strides for Life - Arizona," said Laurie C. Carson, the Founder and President of the Lung Cancer Research Foundation. "LCRF would never have been able to accomplish our initial goal and establish a footprint for this event without the encouragement and support that TGen provided. It is an honor and a privilege to be affiliated and to support their groundbreaking biomedical research in lung cancer."

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, annually killing 1.3 million people. Nearly 220,000 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed this year in the U.S., where more than 159,000 men and women will die from the disease, according to estimates by the National Cancer Institute.

There remains no practical way to screen for lung cancer. As a result, nearly 75 percent of patients are diagnosed with advanced-stage disease, leaving few options for treatment. Among American women, lung cancer is responsible for more cancer deaths than breast cancer and all gynecological cancers, combined. And while the link between smoking and lung cancer is well established, nearly 50 percent of new lung cancer cases are former smokers and about 15 percent have never smoked.

TGen's Lung Cancer Research Lab is at the forefront of efforts to improve lung cancer detection, develop new therapies and enhance our understanding of tumor biology.

TGen Foundation President Michael Bassoff said the $25,000 donation by the Lung Cancer Research Foundation would be applied immediately to support TGen's lung cancer research.

"We are thrilled at the initial success of Strides for Life-Arizona, and we are extremely grateful and honored to have merited the support of such a remarkably dedicated partner-in-science as Laurie Carson and the Lung Cancer Research Foundation," Bassoff said. "The gift from LCRF will support scientific research in an area that affects more cancer patients than any other type of cancer."

LCRF, a leader in helping advance the pace of lung cancer research, previously awarded $75,000 to TGen to name the Lung Cancer Research Foundation Bench, which enables TGen scientists to conduct groundbreaking scientific investigations.