Roop said that creating a hub of cancer stem cell research in Colorado will bring big economic dividends to the state, just as the Gates Stem Cell Center has. Since 2007, that center has grown to 62 full-time employees and received $29 million in research funding with an additional $20 million pending-a rate of about 20 percent annual growth in terms of research dollars, faculty members and staff.

"Just by building this program, we will be able to attract top talent to our campus, and they will bring their millions of research dollars and new high-paying jobs with them," he said. "This will also have an immediate impact on the University of Colorado Hospital, where patients are treated, as we bring new anti-CSC drugs into testing. But the best news is that through doing this, we believe we will find treatments that kill the cancer without almost killing the patient."

What's different about the CCTP:

A clinical trials program focused on developing tools for quickly understanding the impact of candidate anti-cancer stem cell drugs and incorporating them into a clinical setting. A collaboration between a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and a well-funded stem cell center, both of which have rich scientific and technological infrastructure in place to take this new approach to clinical trials. An integrated, multidisciplinary faculty roster that includes clinical and research experts from medical oncology, surgery, radiation oncology, dermatology, cancer biology and bioinformatics, among others. This team composition will prove to be the fastest route to bring successful treatments to patients. Dedicated to collaboration over competition, UCCC and the Gates Stem Cell Center are known for forging successful partnerships with others regardless of what school, program or particular medical area they may work in. Pairs of advanced animal models of three major cancer types-melanoma, squamous skin cancer and head and neck cancer-developed by teams of Colorado scientists and other advanced technologies will give scientists and doctors cutting-edge tools to rapidly understand how new drugs selectively target CSCs for destruction.

Source: University of Colorado Denver