Srivastava Honored for Research in Pancreatic Cancer
Dr. Sudhir Srivastava, chief of the cancer biomarkers research group in NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention, was honored with the Distinguished Service Award from the American Pancreatic Association at the group’s annual meeting in Boston in October. The award recognized his exemplary commitment to the field of pancreatology.
Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest of the common cancers. It is the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. More than 80 percent of patients present with incurable disease and the vast majority live for less than 12 months. Screening to detect precancerous lesions in asymptomatic individuals at increased risk may reduce mortality from the disease.
The award recognized the leadership role of Srivastava and the efforts of his team to establish the Pancreatic Cancer Detection Consortium for conducting research to improve the detection of early stage pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and characterization of its precursor lesions; establish a clinical consortium composed of a coordination and data management center and clinical centers to conduct studies on chronic pancreatitis (CP) and factors that increase the risk of pancreatic cancer in children and adults with CP, pancreatogenic diabetes and in patients with newly diagnosed diabetes; and establish a consortium for the Study of Chronic Pancreatitis, Diabetes and Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Centers.