Case Western Reserve to establish gastrointestinal cancer research center

Case Western Reserve University has received $11.3 million in federal funding to establish a gastrointestinal cancer research center.

The sheer size of the grant from the National Cancer Institute, and the company it puts Case in, make the grant a big deal for the university. Just six other institutions, including Johns Hopkins University and Harvard, have the same federal designation as centers of excellence for gastrointestinal cancer research, according to a statement from Case.

Case is the only institution this year to have received this federal designation for research on gastrointestinal cancers, which has been given the memorable acronym of SPORE — a Specialized Program of Research Excellence.

The new center’s focus will be to develop new treatments for colon cancers and cancers of the esophagus. Colon cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., according to the statement.

The gastrointestinal cancer research center will be directed by Dr. Sanford Markowitz, a professor of cancer genetics at Case and a medical oncologist at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland (and an apparent bow-tie enthusiast).

Some of the highest priorities for researchers at the new center will include developing: new drugs to prevent colon cancer, new tests to identify people at risk of colon cancer, as well as new tests to distinguish colon cancers that can be cured by surgery alone from cancers that instead require further treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation.