For Immediate Release
March 9, 2005

Roswell Park Researcher Awarded $225,000 Grant

BUFFALO, NY – Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, Attending Physician in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), has been named the Anna-Maria Kellen Cancer Vaccine Collaborative (CVC) Clinical Investigator by the Cancer Research Institute (CRI). The designation brings with it a three-year $225,000 grant.

“Dr. Odunsi has established himself as a leading clinician in cancer immunology, capable of improving our understanding of the potential for effective immune-based therapies against ovarian and other gynecologic cancers,” said Lynne Harmer, Director of Grants Administration, CRI.

Dr. Odunsi is the principal investigator of a study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine treatment derived from a protein, called NY-ESO-1, as immunotherapy for patients with ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer. He also is developing a new method that is based on the degree of immune cells in a patient’s tumor to better predict a patient’s clinical course.

“The research of Dr. Odunsi and his team is significantly improving our ability to accurately monitor immune responses in patients undergoing investigational cancer vaccine therapy,” noted Ms. Harmer.

While fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancers are relatively rare, an estimated 22,220 new cases of ovarian cancer will be diagnosed and 16,210 deaths are expected in the United States in 2005.  Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies.
The Cancer Vaccine Collaborative (CVC) is a partnership between two not-for-profit academic institutions, the Cancer Research Institute and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, which has developed an unparalleled program that conducts a systematic analysis in humans comparing immunological approaches to the creation of therapeutic cancer vaccines through a coordinated global effort.

Since its inception in 1953, the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) has had a singular mission—to foster research that will yield an understanding of the immune system and its response to cancer, with the ultimate goal of developing immunological methods for the control and prevention of the disease. To accomplish these goals, CRI supports scientists at all stages of their careers and funds every step of the research process, from basic laboratory studies to clinical trials testing novel immunotherapies. Guided by a Scientific Advisory Council, which includes 4 Nobel Prize winners and 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, CRI awards fellowships and grants to scientists around the world.  Additionally, the Institute has more recently taken on a new leadership role in the areas of preclinical and clinical research by serving as the integrating force and facilitator of collaborations among leading experts. CRI has thus become a catalyst for accelerating the development of cancer vaccines and antibody therapies.

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. 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.  

-30-