U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
October 18, 2000
For Immediate Release:
Department of Defense Announces Awards Summary for FY99 Ovarian Cancer Research Program
The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, through the Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), is pleased to announce the awards summary for the Fiscal Year 1999 (FY99) Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP). The programmatic strategy for the FY99 OCRP sought to invigorate the research community by soliciting proposals for two award mechanisms: New Investigator Awards and Idea Awards. New Investigator Awards were targeted to investigators in the early phase of their careers and to investigators established in other fields who desired to move into ovarian cancer research. Idea Awards were designed to encourage innovative approaches to ovarian cancer research. Complementing current research initiatives by other funding agencies, the FY99 OCRP encouraged the submission of New Investigator Awards and Idea proposals in four research areas: (1) etiology, (2) prevention, (3) diagnosis, and (4) quality of life.
Six New Investigator Awards and 12 Idea Awards were made in FY99. Funded projects encompass mechanistic studies; psychosocial assessments; development of new vaccines, biomarkers, diagnostics, and treatments; and characterization of animal models for human ovarian cancer. The following represent examples of funded research from the FY99 appropriation:
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is developing a novel approach to the vaccination of patients with ovarian cancer using dendritic cells.
- Scripps Clinic Research Institute is investigating the association of oral contraceptive use and parity with ovarian cancer in women who are either BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers in comparison to women who are not. This research would aid in the development of more targeted treatments for particular patient subgroups.
- Beth Israel Medical Center is assessing levels of distress in female relatives of women who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer and identifying factors associated with distress.
- Fox Chase Cancer Center is documenting the short- and long-term physical, psychological, and social functioning of women at high risk for ovarian cancer who are considering a prophylactic oophorectomy. Dietary and lifestyle factors that women at increased risk of ovarian cancer may adopt to alter their risk and improve their health also will be assessed.