For Immediate Release
June 18, 2007

 BUFFALO, NY – Lynn M. Matrisian, PhD, Professor and Chair of Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN, will present the Seventh Annual Leonard L. Weiss Memorial Lecture, Wednesday, June 20, at 8 am, in the David C. Hohn, MD, Lecture Hall, Research Studies Center, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), Elm & Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY. The lecture is open to the public.

Dr. Matrisian will discuss “Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP) in Tumor Progression” highlighting the lessons learned from MMP clinical trials which revealed both tumor promoting and protective effects of individual MMP family members. The cloning of members of the MMP family of proteinases in the mid 1980’s has resulted in the development of small molecule MMP inhibitors in the 1990’s. Despite encouraging preclinical studies, these inhibitors failed to meet their primary endpoint in Phase III clinical trials. A careful analysis of the role of the individual MMP family members in the complex process of tumor progression has revealed both pro- and anti-tumor effects of MMPs.  

This lecture was established by the Institute to honor the late Leonard L. Weiss, MD, PhD, ScD, an internationally renowned cancer research scientist who led the Department of Experimental Pathology at RPCI from 1964 until his retirement in 1993. During his career at RPCI, Dr. Weiss authored two definitive texts on cancer metastasis; was editor of numerous scientific journals and books; and published more than 300 articles in national and international medical and scientific journals.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers. Roswell Park has affiliate sites and collaborative programs in New York, Pennsylvania, and in China. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.

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