The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) recently awarded 71 new grants, totaling close to $136 million, to advance cancer research. This total includes 58 academic research grant awards, 10 prevention awards, and 3 product development research awards. CPRIT has now brought 181 scholars and 13 companies to Texas.
With September named Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, this round of awards illustrates CPRIT’s commitment to curing pediatric cancer. Nine of the awarded grants address childhood cancers, including six academic research grants for brain cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma, leukemia, and lymphoma. A product development Seed Award went toward studying ways to limit the toxicity of treating colon polyps in teenagers, which may lead to colon cancer later in life. Several prevention grants address human papillomavirus in adolescents and provide vaccinations. Of CPRIT’s portfolio, 12% went to childhood cancer research—proportionately three times more than the national commitment.
Hashem El-Serag, MD, MPH
Hashem El-Serag, MD, MPH, of Baylor College of Medicine, received the Collaborative Action Center award, which promotes and encourages interaction, data sharing, and best practices among stakeholders to develop transformative initiatives to prevent liver cancer. In addition, the first of six investigator-initiated awards associated with the statewide initiative “Collaborative Action Program for Liver Cancer” was made for research into the increased incidence, disparities, and risk factors for hepatocellular cancer. ■
