In 2017, the University of California’s five academic cancer centers formed the UC Cancer Consortium to better address California’s most pressing cancer-related problems and opportunities. These five National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer centers – Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco – bring together some of the world’s top experts to collaborate on ground-breaking research, clinical trials and advanced patient care treatments.
Shortly after, the UC Pancreatic Cancer Consortium (UCPCC) was established as a project of these collaborative efforts. The UCPCC aims to unite scientists and clinicians committed to pancreatic cancer research and treatment in order to accelerate the progress and impact of their work. The vision is to improve the lives of persons diagnosed with pancreatic cancer by translating innovative research into improved clinical care.
The Hirshberg Foundation has long advocated for collaboration to help expedite and advance results, so a project of this magnitude and scope is remarkable. It is a prime example of the power of bringing people from various disciplines and diverse expertise to more successfully solve a problem together. This cooperative effort of leading researchers working together will hopefully lead to greater progress, with a focus on securing funding through the NCI’s Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE). SPORE grants promote interdisciplinary research to help basic research findings move quickly from the laboratory to the patient. The UCPCC leverages team science to collaborate across the state to share research, patient care best practices and standards of care, the next phase in how we approach cancer treatment.
The UCPCC focuses on eight areas of investigation, including:
- Biobanking, of which Dr. David Dawson continues to utilize his expertise in pathology to lead the charge toward the integration of pathology resources across the five UC Pancreatic Cancer Consortium campuses.
- Early Biology, the goal of our Basic Research lab
- Early Detection, a focus of Drs. Guido Eibl & Miklos Sahin-Toth, both of who continue to publish extensively and secure grant funding.
- Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) Clinical Trials, a number of which are being conducted at UCLA
- Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (PNETs), a small but critical part of the pancreatic cancer community.