The Pacific Meso Center Receives $50,000 Grant from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation to Further it's Innovative Immunotherapy Research in Mesothelioma.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES , June 1, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Pacific Mesothelioma Center (PMC), a division of the Pacific Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (PHLBI), is pleased to announce the receipt of a generous $50,000 grant from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation in Minneapolis. The grant will support the institute’s ongoing research developing novel prototype mesenchymal stem cell-based immunotherapies, to further the PMC’s ground-breaking immunotherapy research in malignant pleural mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer affecting the lining of the chest.

Immunotherapy, which uses the body's immune system to fight cancer, is now an accepted fourth type of cancer treatment in addition to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Immunotherapy works by stimulating patients’ own immune systems to attack cancer cells or by eliminating specific biological mechanisms that allow cancer cells to evade the immune system.

The scientists at the PMC are particularly excited about immunotherapy utilizing genetically-engineered mesenchymal stem cells and cryoablation-based vaccines. PMC will work with its collaborators, the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, to use this donation to translate its basic science findings into clinical trials and to stimulate the development of a larger mesothelioma consortium to include potential collaborators from the pharmaceutical industry who can facilitate this critical process in order to benefit mesothelioma patients. The Schulze Family Foundation grant will help propel this initiative forward.

“This generous grant will position our research institute to pursue additional extramural funding to further develop this novel therapy and prepare it for clinical trials – starting with malignant pleural mesothelioma patients,” said Robert B Cameron, one of the scientific advisors at the PMC. “Combining different immunotherapies with more traditional cancer treatments, like surgery, in rational ways holds great promise for finally improving the survival of patients with this formerly uniformly fatal disease.”

Clare Cameron the executive director of the PMC said “this grant from the Schulze Family Foundation comes at a really exciting time in immunotherapy research. For the first time ever, we are seeing real benefits of immunotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma.”

Dr. Cameron http://www.mychestsurgeon.com/ is a pioneer in the field of mesothelioma, Director of the Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program at UCLA, Professor of Surgery at UCLA and Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the West LA Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He is also one of the PMC’s Scientific Advisors.

About Us: Established in 2002, PHLBI is a 501(c) (3) non-profit institution. The PMC, a division of the PHLBI, is focused on the treatment and prevention of malignant pleural mesothelioma. The PMC serves a growing number of mesothelioma victims by supporting the nation’s first-of-its-kind research lab which provides laboratory-to-the bedside research that improves mesothelioma victims’ lives and longevity. www.PacificMesotheliomaCenter.org.

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Clare Cameron
The Pacific Mesothelioma Center
310-478-4678
email us here

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