The Pachynski Lab Prostate Research Fund at Siteman Cancer Center and WashU Medicine is pleased to announce a philanthropic investment from Friends and Family Against Prostate Cancer to support their innovative work in advanced prostate cancer research.
Dr. Pachynski, Associate Professor of Medical Oncology at Siteman Cancer Center and WashU Medicine noted, “We are very grateful to the Friends and Family Against Prostate Cancer organization for their donation to help advance our research. It’s philanthropic support like this that allows us to pursue high-risk, high-reward concepts that might not otherwise receive support. We aim to take our discoveries and deliver them into the clinic to help prostate cancer patients live better and longer lives, with their friends and families!”
Friends and Family Against Prostate Cancer was established in 2023 to energize an expanding network of friends and family focused on helping each other through prostate cancer treatments, building awareness of the disease, and raising money to further research toward a cure.
“Our grant strategy is to support outstanding researcher’s and institutions where we have an understanding and insight of the work and can see the passion. Clearly Dr Pachynski and his team fall into this category.” said Rick Merluzzi, Chairman of Friends and Family Against Prostate Cancer. “We see that prostate cancer research as very underfunded, and we are working to make a meaningful impact. It is incumbent on men, and importantly also their families, to be more open regarding the disease and more proactive in supporting the research toward a cure.”
About Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer behind skin related cancers affecting men in the United States — an estimated one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetimes. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2024, almost 299,010 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed, and about 35,250 men will die of the disease. Approximately 3.1 million Americans currently count themselves as prostate cancer survivors.
About Dr Pachynski and Wash U/Siteman
Dr. Russell Pachynski is an Associate Professor of Medical Oncology at Siteman Cancer Center and WashU Medicine. His clinical work focuses on genitourinary cancers (prostate, bladder and kidney), and his team is actively testing new combinations of immunotherapies in patients, with plans for detailed monitoring of the immune response in these individuals. His lab is dedicated to understanding how the immune system’s white blood cells (leukocytes) respond to the development, growth, and treatment of tumors. By studying these interactions, his team aims to uncover how certain signals, specifically chemokines, can be manipulated to make the tumor environment more favorable for immune cells that fight cancer.
One of Dr. Pachynski’s key discoveries involves a chemokine called chemerin, which is often found at lower levels in tumors. By increasing chemerin levels within tumors, Dr. Pachynski’s team has seen reduced tumor growth and more immune cells infiltrating the tumors. Dr. Pachynski’s team is exploring innovative methods to apply these findings in clinical settings, and has developed a “tumor-targeted” chemerin therapeutic that is currently being developed.
Private philanthropy through organizations like the Friends and Family Against Prostate Cancer helps provide critical funding that enables Dr. Pachynski and his team to be eligible for larger, more competitive private and national awards such as the 2024 Harrington Discovery Institute Scholar-Innovator Award and the 2023 American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant.
More information about Dr. Pachynski and his research can be found at https://sites.wustl.edu/pachynskilab/
About Friends and Family Against Prostate Cancer (FFAPC):
Friends and Family Against Prostate Cancer is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 2023. The organizations mission is to energize an expanding network of friends and family focused on helping each other through prostate cancer treatments, building awareness of the disease and raising money to further research toward a cure. https://friendsandfamilyagainstprostatecancer.org/