But there's been surprisingly little research on how cancer spreads. Now, thanks to the wishes of a self-made billionaire, the University of Chicago is receiving $20 million to study how to treat and perhaps prevent this type of metastatic cancer.
"Metastasis has remained largely unexplored and thus poorly understood," said Ralph Weichselbaum, director of a new center that will study metastatic cancer.
The money comes from a trust established by the late Daniel Ludwig. Ludwig's trust also is giving $20 million apiece to Harvard, MIT, Johns Hopkins, Stanford and Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Each center will focus on a different aspect of cancer and have an endowment that will fund about $2 million of research per year, in perpetuity.
The U. of C. Ludwig Center will study how cancer cells spread from the initial tumor, travel through the bloodstream or lymphatic system and colonize other sites.
Doctors usually can eliminate primary tumors. All too often, however, the cancer already has spread by the time the primary tumor is detected and treated. And when cancer cells do spread, they become more aggressive, faster growing and more resistant to chemotherapy and radiation.
• Infusing patients with radioactive molecules, which would seek and destroy cancer cells.
• Doing gene testing on patients to determine who would likely benefit from high-dose chemo or radiation. Patients not likely to benefit would not undergo the potentially toxic treatments.
• Infecting patients with a virus that would kill cancer cells, while doing little or no damage to healthy cells.
The Ludwig Center will bring together experts in molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, chemistry, imaging and other specialities. It will be located in the Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery, now under construction.
