1998


From: Northwestern University

V. Craig Jordan Will Present Results Of Raloxifene Breast Cancer Study At American Society For Clinical Oncology Meeting

LOS ANGELES --- Noted breast cancer drug researcher V. Craig Jordan will present the findings of one of Eli Lilly Company's studies of the drug raloxifene (EvistaR) at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting in Los Angeles on Sunday, May 17.

More than 10,000 postmenopausal women age 41 to 80 taking EvistaR for approximately 32 months had a 54 percent reduction in the incidence of newly diagnosed breast cancers when compared to their counterparts who were taking placebo.

Raloxifene is an antiestrogen, a drug that works by blocking the estrogen receptors in the breast, thereby preventing the hormone estrogen from contributing to the growth of cancer. Jordan and other breast cancer researchers believe that the estrogenic properties of drugs such as raloxifene may also be targeted to prevent osteoporosis and heart attacks in postmenopausal women.

Jordan is a professor of cancer pharmacology at Northwestern University Medical School and director of the Breast Cancer Research Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

He was the first scientist to note that tamoxifen, a drug originally developed for birth control, seemed to prevent the growth of mammary tumors in rodents. Tamoxifen subsequently was found to increase the survival of breast cancer patients and also to prevent the development of second breast cancers.

In 1993 Jordan was selected to receive the prestigious Cameron Prize from the University of Edinburgh. He has also received major scientific awards from the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and the Sir John Gaddum Award at Cambridge University, England, from the British Pharmacological Society for his contributions to pharmacology.

In addition, he received the American-Italian Award for Scientific Excellence in Medicine for his breast cancer prevention research and the Block Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Research from The Ohio State University. Most recently, he was named the Sixth Laureate of the Cino del Duca Award for Oncology in Paris. He also is a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Institute of Chemists.

Jordan received a bachelor of science degree and a Ph.D. from the department of pharmacology from Leeds University Medical School, England. Before joining the Northwestern University faculty in 1993, he was a professor of human oncology and pharmacology and director of the breast cancer program at the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, Madison.

(Editor's note: V. Craig Jordan can be reached from May 15 through 19 at the American Society for Clinical Oncology meeting at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles, (213) 624-1000, or through Stacey Isaacs at Cohn & Wolfe, New York, at (212) 598-3636.)

Northwestern News on the World Wide Web: http://www.nwu.edu/univ-relations/media/

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