On May 27, 2005, the Punch Worthington Research Laboratory
was dedicated at the UCLA Medical School in Los Angles, California.
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The
David "Punch" Worthington Laboratory is located at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the UCLA
MedicalCenter in Los Angeles, California. The Laboratory was made possible
by a generous initial donation and continuing support from Roger G. Worthington.
The Punch Worthington Lab is the home of exciting new research on novel
strategies for the treatment of mesothelioma, lung cancer, leukemia, and
other occupational cancers. Roger Worthington is proud to help launch
this vital research effort in honor of his father, Punch Worthington,
Ph.D., who has asbestosis and lung cancer. Punch obtained a Ph.D. in Genetics
but left a promising career in academia to pursue his true love: labor
union organizing and advocacy.
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Roger Worthington, Dr. Gerald Levey, the Dean of
the
UCLA Medical School, David "Punch" Worthington and Dr. Robert
Cameron, Chief of Thoracic Surgery
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Research at the Punch Worthington Lab is conducted by the
Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute ("PHLBI"), a non-profit medical research organization dedicated
to finding cures for industrial-related diseases such as mesothelioma
and lung cancer caused by asbestos and leukemia and myeloma caused by
benzene. Roger G. Worthington is a founding donor and director of PHLBI.
PHLBI
Research Plan
Under the direction of its Scientific Advisory Board, PHLBIhas established
an ambitious plan for conducting novel research in the diagnosis, treatment
and prevention of mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer and benzene-related
hematologic cancers. PHLBI's research plan also includes investigation
into much-needed administrative improvements in medical care which will
provide patients with additional knowledge, security and control regarding
their treatment.
Update for March 3, 2010. Pacific Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute is nearing the launch of a
new mesothelioma databank that will allow mesothelioma patients to safely
store and share pertinent medical information with other mesothelioma
patients and researchers alike.
More...
Mesothelioma and Asbestos-Related Lung Cancer
PHLBI is committed to being a worldwide leader in researching mesothelioma,
a rare asbestos-related cancer that is uniformly fatal and in dire need
of novel diagnostic, screening, staging, and treatment approaches. PHLBI's
Robert Cameron, M.D. is Chief of Thoracic Surgery at The David Geffen School of Medicine at
UCLA and has been at the forefront of developing innovative therapies
for extending the lives of
mesothelioma patients. PHLBI's
research plan includes programs involving Immunotherapy, and Screening/
Early Detection/Prevention.
Immunotherapy. There is significant data and experience which indicates that mesothelioma
may be successfully treated with manipulation of the immune system. Reports
in the medical literature reveal success using immunotoxins and interferon.
PHLBI plans to aggressively pursue the use of immune stimulating factors
in the treatment of mesothelioma.
Immunotoxin Immunotherapy Projects. Recent preliminary data indicates that a specific immunotoxin (interleukin-4
or "IL-4") has potent anti-cancer activity specifically in mesothelioma.
PHLBIplans to explore combinations of the toxin with other treatments
including chemotherapy, hyperthermia, and interferon therapy. This will
be carried out in the laboratory using cells grown in culture. The ultimate
goal is to apply this promising therapy in human patients in a clinical
trial. This would require making enough of the toxin in a strict FDA-approved
manner which would cost approximately $500,000 alone. Yet, if the findings
in animal work are borne out by human administration, this toxin could
be a key to significant progress toward a cure for this dreaded disease.
Project #1: Immunotoxin combinations in vitro (budget need: $100K). This project will
explore treatment combinations such as IL-4 immunotoxin with chemotherapy,
hyperthermia, and interferon therapy conducted in the "Punch"
Worthington Research Laboratory with mesothelioma cells grown in culture.
The results of this project will guide further research to be conducted
in animals (see Project #2 below).
Project #2: Immunotoxin combinations in vivo (budget need: $250,000). This project
will explore treatment combinations such as IL-4 immunotoxin with chemotherapy,
hyperthermia, and interferon therapy conducted in the "Punch"
Worthington Research Laboratory with mesothelioma cells injected into
animals (mice). The results of this project will be used to guide further
research to be conducted in humans (see Project #3 below).
Project #3: Immunotoxin combinations in human clinical trials (budget need: $1,000,000).
This project will explore treatment combinations such as IL-4 immunotoxin
with chemotherapy, hyperthermia, and interferon therapy conducted at UCLA
and other mesothelioma treatment centers across the country.
Interferon Immunotherapy Projects. Interferon alpha has shown promising results in preliminary studies at
UCLA and other clinical trials. The reasons are not clear but may involve
a direct inhibitory effect on tumor cells, stimulation of the immune system
and inhibition of blood vessel formation (angiogenesis). Interferons are
normal messenger proteins that humans produce in response to viral infections
and other specific infections such as tuberculosis. It is believed that
they are also vital to the body's ability to fight abnormal cells
like cancer cells. PHLBIplans to explore the use of interferons in the
treatment of mesothelioma in both basic science experimentation and human
clinical trials.
Project #1: Interferon combinations in vitro (budget need: $100,000). This project
will explore the use of interferon with hyperthermia and other immune
stimulating cytokines in the treatment of mesothelioma cells in culture.
These experiments will be conducted in the "Punch" Worthington
Research Laboratory and the results will be used to guide further research
to be conducted in animals (see Project #2 below).
Project #2: Interferon combinations in vivo (budget need: $250,000). This project
will explore the use of interferon with hyperthermia and other immune
stimulating cytokines in the treatment of mesothelioma cells in animals
(mice). These studies will be conducted in the "Punch" Worthington
Research Laboratory and the results will be used to guide human clinical
(see Project #3 below).
Project #3: Interferon in combination with interleukin-2 (budget need: $1,000,000)
and/or other cytokines as defined by Projects #1 and #2 above used to
plan human clinical trials with interferon possibly with interleukin-2
priming prior to surgical removal of the tumor. This will be conducted
at UCLA and other mesothelioma treatment centers across the country.
Project #4: COX-2 inhibitors (Celebrex, etc.) in combination with interferon maintenance
therapy (budget need: $1,000,000) and/or other cytokines as defined by
Projects #1 and #2 above used to plan human clinical trials with COX-2
inhibitors with or without interferon as maintenance therapy following
standard therapy. This will be conducted at UCLA and other mesothelioma
treatment centers across the country.
Project #5: Angiogenesis inhibition (budget need $1,000,000). Numerous agents have
been tested with and without chemotherapy for the treatment of mesothelioma
and other cancers by inhibition of new blood vessel formation. This will
be explored in the seldom-tested setting of chronic maintenance and may
also be combined with interferon and COX-2 inhibition therapy. This project
will be conducted at UCLA and other mesothelioma treatment centers across
the country.
Screening/Early Detection/Prevention. Populations of people exposed to asbestos, and therefore at risk for mesothelioma
and lung cancer, currently have no way of determining whether they will
develop one of these terrible cancers. Only approximately 15% of patients
exposed to asbestos will actually develop mesothelioma or lung cancer.
In addition, there is no test which can detect mesothelioma at an early
or even pre-malignant stage. In order to help people at risk detect the
disease at an early stage when there are many more options available for
effective treatment, PHLBI plans an aggressive program for improving screening,
early detection and prevention.
Screening Projects. Breath test for volatile hydrocarbons (budget need: $150,000). In order
for persons exposed to asbestos to determine whether they are among the
smaller population of those who are at high risk of actually developing
asbestos-related malignancies, PHLBI plans to examine the volatile hydrocarbons
which are exhaled in people's breath (breath testing). Dr. Cameron
has already gained significant experience in breath testing of patients
with lung cancer and is eager to expand the testing to patients exposed
to asbestos and at risk for mesothelioma. The test involves breathing
into a tube which collects volatile hydrocarbons on a filter so they can
be analyzed. This project will be conducted at UCLA and other mesothelioma
treatment centers across the country.
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Early Detection Projects. Proteonomics in early detection of mesothelioma (budget need: $500,000).
Normal and abnormal cells in the body generate distinctive amounts and
kinds of proteins. This "protein profile" can be used much like
a fingerprint. PHLBI plans to conduct investigation to determine the "protein
profile" generated by mesothelioma cells so that simple blood tests
can be used to detect mesothelioma at an early stage. This project will
involve analysis of blood and urine from mesothelioma victims at all stages
of disease as well as normal and asbestos-exposed people to better define
protein profiles in these populations. This project will be conducted
at UCLA and other mesothelioma treatment centers across the country.
Prevention Projects. COX-2 inhibition as prevention of mesothelioma (budget need: $1,500,000).
Chronic inflammation induced by asbestos fibers has been implicated in
the development of mesothelioma. One way to prevent the development of
mesothelioma in patients with known significant asbestos exposure is to
treat them with COX-2 inhibitors (Celebrex, etc.) of inflammation. This
has already been shown to prevent other cancers, such as colon cancer,
and may be effective in lung cancer. This project will be conducted at
UCLA and other mesothelioma treatment centers across the country in conjunction
with Unions of high risk workers/patients.
Hematologic Cancers
PHLBI also has an ambitious plan for researching advancements in the diagnosis
and treatment of hematologic cancers such as acute myelogenous leukemia,
multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. These particular cancers
have been related to exposure to benzene. PHLBI's Gary Schiller, M.D.
is Chief of Hematology-Oncology at The David Geffen School of Medicine
at UCLA and has conducted numerous studies which put into clinical trials
new drugs and therapeutics which are developed in the laboratory for treatment of
acute myelogenous leukemia ("AML") and other hematologic malignancies.
Bone Marrow Models. Ex vivo bone marrow models (budget need: $1,500,000). There is a desperate
need for a laboratory system for studying bone marrow models in AML and
other hematologic cancers. PHLBI intends to develop a laboratory model
of bone marrow diseases using tissue engineering techniques. There has
been preliminary work in this area conducted by PHLBI personnel and the
results have been encouraging. This type of work can lead to additional
applications involving almost every facet of hematopoiesis (bone marrow
growth and maturation), including red blood cell formation and development,
platelet formation, and white blood cell formation. This knowledge will
lead to improved treatments for AML, anemia, low platelets, bone marrow
transplantation, and even certain infections.
Administrative Improvements in Medical Care
In addition to its research into therapeutic and scientific advancements,
PHLBI is committed to investigating ways in which the administration of
medical care can be improved so that patients are vested with additional
knowledge, security and control regarding their treatment.
Electronic Medical Records System. (budget need: $500,000). PHLBI believes in empowering patients with their
own medical records for better understanding and control over their own
health and treatment. PHLBI supports an electronic medical records system
which is directly accessible to patients. Such a system would enable data
to be directly entered from point of generation and allow for the coordinated
transfer of medical information among providers and research studies.
This type of system would result in complete and organized records possessed
by all persons and facilities involved in the treatment, thereby increasing
the time for meaningful discussions of medical problems between health
care providers and patients and improving the quality and efficacy of
patient care.
Health Care Systems. (budget need: $1,000,000). PHLBI recognizes the need for development of
novel methods of health care delivery. PHLBI supports a system founded
on a "ability to pay" basis. This means that instead of every
person paying a health-handicapped insurance premium to a "for-profit"
company, people would pay based on their ability to contribute to a "catastrophic"
government fund while using individual savings accounts for lower cost
items. This would allow individual provider-based pricing but income-based
premium payments. This project will involve collection and analysis of
data on individual access and consistency of access system approach.
PHLBI Press Releases
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| Roger Worthington, Dave "Punch" Worthington and David Worthington |
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David "Punch" Worthington, Dr. Gerald Levey, the Dean of
the
UCLA Medical School, Dr. Robert Cameron, Chief of Thoracic Surgery and
Dr. Mary Maish, Thoracic Surgeon
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