PCF funds two new Young Investigators in China to lead research projects on prostate cancer

The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) today announced that it is funding two more Young Investigators (YIs) in China to lead innovative research projects within the country and expand PCF's global knowledge exchange on game-changing research in prostate cancer. PCF now funds four Young Investigators in China. The first two YIs in China were announced in 2012.

The PCF China Young Investigator Awards provide a three-year grant of $37,500 per year. In total, the Prostate Cancer Foundation has funded 120 Young Investigator Awards, in nine countries.

As China's cancer rate rises, health officials are investing in cancer research across the country and forging international relationships with preeminent research entities such as PCF. While cancer rates in the United States are falling, they are rising in China with a death rate from cancer that is far higher — about 2.5 million people yearly, compared with the 580,350 cancer deaths projected for the United States this year.

The 2013 PCF China Young Investigator Award recipients are sponsored in honor of Stanley Zax. The 2013 Young Investigators are:

Hao Hu, MD, MBBS
People's Hospital, Peking University
Mentors: Kexin Xu, MD, MBBS and Xiaofeng Wang, MBBS

Dr. Hu's research program will focus on the mechanisms of prostate cancer initiation and progression. He and his team have identified the protein EMI1 (Early Mitotic Inhibitor 1) as playing a crucial role in disease development and progression by interacting with the androgen receptor, the primary driver of prostate cancer. His team will study the role of EMI1 on the progression of prostate cancer to disease that is resistant to treatment. Inactivation of EMI1 may be a therapeutic strategy against the development and progression of treatment- resistant prostate cancer.

Lu Yang, MD
West China Hospital, Sichuan University
Mentors: Qiang Wei, MD and Tianyong Fan, MD

Growing evidence points to a link between inflammation and the initiation of prostate cancer. It is also linked to the progression of prostate cancer to being resistant to treatment. Dr. Lang and his team will conduct four Phase 1 clinical studies to investigate the effects of anti-inflammatory agents such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like aspirin, on prostate tumor initiation and progression. His team will also outline the precise molecular mechanism behind the effects of anti-inflammatory agents on preventing disease progression.