BUFFALO, NY – Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center physician Roberto Pili, MD, has been awarded an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the role of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors in treating renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The two-year grant is for $675,000.
Dr. Pili is the principal investigator on a study with three goals: to further define the role of specific HDAC inhibitors; to evaluate novel combination strategies for targeted agents such as mammalian-target-of-rapamycin (mTOR), which are likely enhanced by use of HDAC inhibitors; and to conduct clinical studies with a combination of HDAC and mTOR inhibitors.
The study is expected to provide new insights on the role of HDACs in the renal tumor microenvironment, as well as early clinical evidence that combining HDAC inhibitors and molecular targeted inhibitors increases the antitumor effects. The study will also provide the foundation for future clinical trials in RCC patients.
Dr. Pili is Chief of the Genitourinary Section in the Department of Medicine and Co-Leader, of the Genitourinary Program at Roswell Park. He was named one of the Best Doctors® in America for 2009-2010.
The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit Roswell Park’s website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email AskRoswell@Roswellpark.org.
-30-
Annie Deck-Miller, Senior Media Relations Manager
716-845-8593; annie.deck-miller@roswellpark.org