Newswise — Tyler Curiel, chief of hematology and medical oncology at the Tulane University School of Medicine, has broken the world record for dribbling a basketball while running over a 24-hour period. Tulane medical students are holding an event called Bounce for Life to support research in Curiel's lab. Curiel, who is an ultra-marathon runner, broke the record of 97.37 miles at 6:20 a.m. (Central time) today. After running 21:17:04, Curiel hit 100 miles. When Curiel reached the 24-hour mark at 9:30 a.m. CST, he had run a total of 108.409 miles.
Andy Martin, a third-year medical student at the Tulane, is growing cells from his own tumor in Curiel's lab, hoping to develop a cure for his own cancer. Martin has a rare and untreatable cancer called sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma, which cannot be treated effectively through standard therapies.
Martin and Curiel hope to find a new target for treating this type of cancer. Martin is the main investigator on this team. This work also may establish new treatments for other types of cancer.
"This is an opportunity not only to help Andy, but also to contribute to the understanding of cancer," Curiel says.
Tulane surgeons contributed their services to biopsy Martin's tumor to obtain cells. Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) is an aggressive cancer of the nasal cavity and surrounding sinuses. Fewer than 100 cases of SNUC have been reported in the medical literature, and few patients survive past five years.
"I am at a unique point in my personal struggle with the disease and in my medical education," Martin says. "I have the time and opportunity to do research under the mentorship of Tyler Curiel with the cells that were culled from my own tumor, in order to better understand SNUC. Hopefully, this will lead to the discovery of targets for novel drug therapies, and provide a ray of hope to those who suffer from this disease."
Curiel and his team of scientists are internationally recognized for their studies of the mechanisms by which tumors grow, metastasize and evade the immune system. This understanding has led to the discovery of targets for novel cancer therapies. The team recently discovered several pathways by which tumors turn off the body's immune defense system. These discoveries form the basis for a clinical trial launched recently to test a new treatment for ovarian cancer.
The medical students are seeking gifts, pledges and event sponsorship for Bounce for Life. Contributions may be sent to Tulane Cancer Center/Run over Cancer, 1430 Tulane Ave., SL-78, New Orleans, La. 70112. For more information, visit the medical students' website at: http://www.bounceforlife.org
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