FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PANCAN AWARDS NEW GRANTS FOR PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH

Industry-Leading PanCAN/NCI Online MAP Database
Efficiently Connects Researchers With Widespread Medical Community

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. U.S.A. (May 3, 2005) - The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) has awarded four new grants to pancreatic cancer researchers around the country and, for the first time, has listed them on the PanCAN-NCI Pancreatic Cancer Research MAP, which launched in November. The PanCAN-NCI Pancreatic Cancer Research MAP (www.cancermap.org/pancreatic), a joint effort by PanCAN and the National Cancer Institute, is an innovative online tool with a searchable database of investigators and research projects relevant to pancreatic cancer. It tracks funded research that can assist with the development of national strategies to hasten progress in this disease and faciliitates collaboration among lresearchers. PanCAN is the first national patient-based advocacy organization for the pancreatic cancer community that serves patients, families, medical researchers and physicians. The NCI is the lead federally-funded research organization dedicated to eliminating suffering and death for all cancers.

“These four researchers represent hope in preventing and curing pancreatic cancer,” said Julie Fleshman, President and CEO of PanCAN. “What makes their mission so important is that pancreatic cancer research is extremely under funded, even though it is the fourth leading cause of cancer death. By publicizing their research efforts on the PanCAN-NCI Pancreatic Cancer Research MAP, we can communicate with the entire pancreatic cancer community in a way that will lead to greater resource sharing and faster progress in the fight against pancreatic cancer.” PanCAN has funded research grants since 2003 and will add information about all 10 grants, including those most recently awarded, to the PanCAN-NCI Pancreatic Cancer Research MAP.

Current award recipients and their areas of focus include:

William G. Hawkins, MD, Washington University in St. Louis: Develop a novel vaccine for patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas.

Sunil R. Hingorani, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania: Examine cell-of-origin of pancreatic cancer.

Mircea Ivan, MD, PhD, Tufts University School of Medicine: Explore hypoxia resistance in pancreatic tumors. The awards of doctors Hawkins, Hingorani and Ivan were co-sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

Aram Hezel, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Study novel therapeutic antibodies for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Dr. Hezels’s grant was co-sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

About PanCAN
PanCAN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1999 by surviving family members of individuals who died of pancreatic cancer. Chartered as a grassroots organization of advocacy for pancreatic cancer patients and their families, PanCAN currently has volunteers and members throughout the United States and around the world. The organization works to focus national attention on the need to find a cure for pancreatic cancer, and provides public and professional education embracing the urgent need for more research, effective treatments, prevention programs and early detection methods. Visit www.pancan.org to obtain more information, e-mail info@pancan.org, or call 1-877-272-6226.

About the NCI
The National Cancer Institute leads the National Cancer Program in the discovery of new knowledge about the causes and mechanisms of cancer and the development and delivery of interventions for the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer that will benefit all people. Each year, the NCI provides funding for over 5,000 principal investigators working at NCI and at nearly 700 institutions around the country and supports clinical trials involving more than 12,000 investigators and thousands of patients at the NIH clinical center and close to 3,000 other sites across the U.S. For more information, go to www.cancer.gov

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Media Contacts:

Jennifer Beaver/Aaron Kiel
PanCAN Public Relations Consultants
Phone: 562-983-8117 / 562-983-8113
Email: jbeaver@akprgroup.com
Email: akiel@akprgroup.com

Company Contacts:

Julie Fleshman
PanCAN President & CEO
Phone: 310-725-0025
Email: jfleshman@pancan.org