ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic Cancer Center's Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for prostate cancer research has been renewed for an additional five years. SPORE grants are highly competitive awards given to institutions on the cutting edge of translational research in specific types of cancer.

Mayo's original five-year prostate SPORE grant of $12 million was awarded in 2001. The current grant brings an additional $11.2 million over five years to Mayo Clinic to advance translational research intended to reduce deaths due to prostate cancer. Mayo Clinic oncology researcher Donald Tindall, Ph.D. is the principal investigator. He leads a large multidisciplinary team of basic, clinical and population science investigators in translational research projects to help prostate cancer patients and those at risk for prostate cancer.

"Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, but we are continually gaining a better understanding of the disease, and advancing toward better treatments and someday hopefully a cure," says Dr. Tindall. "The SPORE grant allows our team of scientists and clinicians to further research in the arenas of diagnosis and individualized treatment, including how to predict response to therapy and several unique and promising treatment options."

Translational research involves taking basic science discoveries in the laboratory and adapting those findings to treatment of patients in the hospital or clinic. The grant will fund these major projects:

• Identifying biomarkers to predict an individual's response to different therapeutic options

• Developing and validating a trans-rectal vibro-acoustography tool for prostate imaging, resulting in a relatively noninvasive, high-quality imaging option for diagnosis and treatment

• Conducting clinical research studies evaluating a viral delivery mechanism for rad
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