This year, we are projecting to raise $5 million through the gala. These funds will be targeted for cancer prevention and early-detection programs and initiatives. Some examples are outlined below.

Promoting Cancer Prevention and Early Detection

The greatest influence on relieving the burden of cancer would be to prevent the disease from occurring in the first place. Cancer prevention has the highest likelihood of reducing the costs of cancer care. For every individual, minimizing cancer risks depends on a lifelong series of conscious choices. Each of us can reduce the chances of developing cancer in our lifetime, and it takes determination to make correct choices about our environments, lifestyles, and behaviors. Eating well, being physically active, avoiding tobacco use, and maintaining a healthy weight are important ways to reduce cancer risks.

In addition to educating the public about what they can do to reduce their risks of cancer, there is a rapidly growing foundation of scientific evidence for the great potential of leading centers, such as UPMC Cancer Centers and the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), to develop and regionally implement effective interventions to preempt the development of cancer. Chemoprevention research at the UPCI focuses on obesity/energy balance and development and clinical testing of new drugs, neutraceuticals, and cancer vaccines that may be particularly useful, effective, and safe.

If cancer prevention is the optimal alternative to a cure, early detection is the next best thing. Proteomics is a leading-edge technology that is increasingly showing promise—based on tests on serum from a single drop of blood—for revolutionizing detection of early-stage cancers, molecular classification of human cancers, assessment of responses to cancer treatment, and cancer recurrence. Clinical application of this technology promises to provide diagnostic information on individual patients, determine which patients will benefit most from a given therapy, and provide improved, more rapid assessment of individual patients’ responses to therapy. The UPCI is one of the key national leaders in this field and increased investment will accelerate the ability to move this technology forward.

Center for Environmental Oncology

The UPCI recently established the Center for Environmental Oncology. The highest priorities of this Center are to educate the public about cancer risks from carcinogenic chemicals in the environment; to implement programs to detect levels of carcinogens in the environment; and to perform research on interventions designed to mitigate or eliminate risks for cancer development. The UPCI already is a leader in cancer prevention, and additional support will help to bring a focus to the development of clinical strategies that can have a genuine impact on people of all ages in Pennsylvania and beyond.

Advancing Cancer Nutrition

Nutrition is a field ripe with possibilities for cancer prevention—promoting the use of certain foods, and powerful natural chemicals derived from such foods, that target cancer cells with minimal effects on normal cells. The benefits of preventing or delaying cancer through nutrition are significant. By identifying nutritional and dietary methods of combating cancer, there is much hope for delaying the onset of the disease. If cancer development can be delayed for 10 to 15 years, individuals may live normal lives without the pain of cancer, treatments, and the associated costs. The UPCI is placing a high priority on expanding its already nationally recognized program of nutrition-related chemoprevention to a truly comprehensive cancer nutrition program that addresses the specific and complex needs of cancer patients at all stages of treatment.