As part of the passage of a recent defense bill, Congress approved 1.6 million dollars for prostate cancer imaging research that aims to develop new imaging techniques to detect prostate cancer.
The Boston-based AdMeTech Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports prostate cancer imaging research, received the funding, which was championed by Reps. Michael Capuano (D-MA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Diane Watson (D-CA), and Senator John Kerry (D-MA).
Leonard Marks, MD, professor of Urology at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), said in the AdMeTech press release, “I am delighted to see growing congressional support for AdMeTech Foundation, which has been providing international leadership in the advancement of prostate imaging for over a decade. If we could see prostate cancer – its location, extent and aggressiveness – we would redefine patient care.”
Dr. Martin Pomper, professor of radiology at Johns Hopkins, has received previous financial support from AdMeTech and has used it to develop an experimental early detection imaging agent. Further funding will make it possible for Pomper to investigate the ability of novel imaging agents to visualize specific prostate cancer molecular markers, differentiate aggressive from harmless disease strains, and other prostate cancer applications.
The 1.6 million dollar funding was passed as part of the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill.
“We are deeply grateful to members of Congress who have assured our ability to continue the research initiative to create and test accurate imaging tools for improved early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer,” said Dr. Faina Shtern, CEO and founder of the AdMeTech Foundation in the statement.
For more information, visit www.admetech.org.
(Source: Press Release)
