UC San Diego’s Moores Cancer Center has received a $1 million donation from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to support early cancer detection, it was announced Thursday.
The Moores Center will use the funds to develop and implement the Early Detection and Prevention of Cancer Initiative, intended to increase access to cancer prevention and screening services, “with a focus on helping individuals in greatest need in San Diego County,” a statement from the university read.
“We are grateful to Pfizer for their visionary support of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center to develop and implement this novel program,” said Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences Dr. John M. Carethers. “This initiative is designed to address the unequal burden of cancer morbidity and mortality for our local community. Our goal is to save lives.”
According to the National Cancer Institute, around half of all cancers are detected at later stages, reducing chance of treatment and survival. Cancers remain the top cause of death in San Diego County.
Researchers at Moores are targeting colorectal, breast, cervical and prostate cancer as the primary focus of the early detection initiative due to their high incidence and mortality rate, as well as low rates of screening across the county.
“This forward-looking initiative represents the future of oncology,” said Moores Director Dr. Diane Simeone. “The cancer treatments we provide have the potential to be significantly more effective against tumors identified at their earliest stages.
The cancer center will use the Pfizer grant to partner with its community advisory board to try to increase participation in “evidence-based screening approaches that are known to be effective.” That includes Moores staff reaching out to Federally Qualified Health Centers around the county to use existing networks to increase screenings.
“We’re proud to support the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center as they develop and implement community-focused initiatives to reach people living with cancer where they are, including improved local screening and prevention programs,” said Jeffrey Settleman, chief scientific officer for oncology research and development at Pfizer.
