Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 1, 2004|Volume 33, Number 5

Surgeon earns award for studies on link between aging and tumor growth

Yale surgeon Dr. Charles Cha has received a Dennis W. Jahnigen Career Development Scholars Award, which was created to encourage young physicians and surgeons to make the geriatric aspects of their disciplines a career focus.

Cha, assistant professor of surgery (gastroenterology) at the School of Medicine, was selected for the highly competitive program because of the promise demonstrated in his proposal, his mentors' sponsorship and his institution's support of his work. The Yale mentors associated with this award are Dr. Edward Chu and Dr. Richard Marrottoli. The two-year award is for $200,000.

Chu has been investigating the effects of aging on tumor angiogenesis and growth. The process of angiogenesis, which is the development of blood vessels, is thought to be blunted with age, but the relationship between aging and tumor angiogenesis is not well understood and potentially could have profound effects on tumor growth and proliferation. Cancer is the leading cause of death in patients over the age of 65.

Chu said in his proposal that tumor angiogenesis is a process necessary for cancer to grow beyond a few millimeters in size.

"To assess the effect of aging on tumor angiogenesis," he wrote, "we plan to design gene silencing small-interfering RNAs which will silence VEGF and other pro-angiogenic factors. VEGF is one of the most potent pro-angiogenic factors for tumor growth and is secreted by almost all solid cancers. For this reason, VEGF has been one of the primary targets for anti-angiogenic therapy in solid tumors. I hypothesize that the VEGF pathway is altered by the aging process, and this alteration could lead to differences in tumor proliferation and growth when treated by anti-angiogenic therapy."

The awards are funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies, and were created through a partnership with the American Geriatrics Society. The awards seek to nurture and support the development of new leaders in surgical and related medical specialties who can bring an understanding of the unique characteristics of older patients to surgical training and practice.

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Surgeon earns award for studies on link between aging and tumor growth

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