Scientists Launch Lung Cancer Early Detection Initiative

Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation has pledged $10 million to the Canary Foundation to support a unique, new collaborative research program to save lives through early detection of lung cancer.

The new joint program, called Canary Lung, is being announced today at a private event hosted by Mrs. Nelson Rockefeller at her home in New York.

"The effect of lung cancer on Americans is simply staggering," said Mr. David Rockefeller, an early supporter of Canary Lung. "I believe the Labrecque and Canary Foundations, through Canary Lung, can have a dramatic impact on this terrible disease."

"Cancer is still one of the greatest threats to our nation's families," said Don Listwin, founder and CEO of Canary Foundation. "But if detected early, the survival rate for cancer patients is much higher. Canary Foundation's overall strategy is to pursue short-term goals by funding research that will lead to simple blood and imaging tests that can identifyand isolate cancers at their earliest points, when it is most treatable."

"Lung cancer, with a five-year survival rate of less than 15 percent, is responsible for more deaths than breast, prostate, colorectal and melanoma cancers combined," said Tom Labrecque Jr., President of the Labrecque Foundation. "We knew the only way to change the five-year survival rate was through early detection, and when we learned about Canary Foundation's mission, its distinctive approach of building collaborative teams consisting of the best and brightest researchers and clinicians from across the country, and their results, we knew we had found the right partner to advance our mission."

Institutions that will participate in Canary Lung will include the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Stanford University in Palo Alto, and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The Canary Science team is headed by Dr. Sanjiv "Sam" Gambhir, Professor of Radiology & Bioengineering and Director of the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford University. "For the past 10 years, my research has focused on molecular imaging with the goal of identifying cancer at its earliest stage possible," said Dr. Gambhir. "We are honored to add this team of top researchers to help those affected by lung cancer."

Background

Cancer strikes one in three women and one in two men in the United States, and more than 570,000 die from it each year. But survival rates improve dramatically when cancer is diagnosed early, and the disease is confined to the organ of origin. For example, since 1950, there has been a 70 percent decline in cervical cancer incidence and deaths thanks to a simple screening test, the Pap test. However, early detection diagnostic tools do not exist for many cancers, and those that do exist are not blood-based, such as the colonoscopy and mammogram.