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American Cancer Society wins Nobel Prize

Physician Practice Advisor, December 13, 2004

Three American Cancer Society grantees received the Nobel Prize in chemistry-bringing the number of Society-supported researchers who have gone on to receive the honor to a record-breaking 35 for nonprofits.

Irwin A. Rose, PhD, Avram Hershko, MD, PhD and Aaron Ciechanover, MD, were awarded October 6 for their collective groundbreaking work discovering how cells mark and then destroy unwanted proteins.

The researchers identified the critical marker, a molecule called ubiquitin, which after tagging a given protein for destruction is then recycled by the cell. This research has led to the development of the drug Velcade, approved last year by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of certain blood cancers, specifically recurrent multiple myeloma. A number of other cancer targets are being investigated as well.

"We congratulate this remarkable accomplishment and the continued progress it represents," said John R. Seffrin, PhD, national chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society in a press release. "We are honored to be associated with Drs. Rose, Hershko, and Ciechanover and all of the Nobel laureates we have funded throughout our 90 year history."

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