AUSTIN, Minn.—November 20, 2009—The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota and research partner of Mayo Clinic,  today announced Dr. Zigang Dong, Executive Director,  reports findings from the cancer prevention conference he co-chaired in Changsha, Chinawas a great success both in the ground-breaking research shared among leading collaborators and its outstanding attendance.

Dong reports the conference was attended by cancer experts from both China and the U.S., including Dr. Ann Bode, Associate Director of The Hormel Institute and Dr. Douglas Yee, Director of the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota.

“The research indicates most human cancers, if not all, are preventable. However, the journey towards achieving the goal of winning the war against cancer, by multiple approaches – especially prevention – is difficult and full of detours and roadblocks,” said Dong.

Cancer is one of the major physical, social and economic burdens and public health threats worldwide.  Cancer is a major cause of premature death in both China and the U.S. The goal of the joint conference was to provide a scientifically driving symposium with the focus on molecular and cellular targets of cancer causation and prevention.

The Hormel Institute comprises a group of highly successful medical scientists who have focused their efforts on determining the basic molecular mechanisms of cancer development in order to use their findings for the development of new anti-cancer agents.

AUSTIN, Minn.—October 2, 2009—The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota and research partner of Mayo Clinic,  today announces Dr. Zigang Dong, Executive Director, was awarded $495,210 for a two-year skin cancer research project.  Skin cancer is the number one cancer in terms of incidence in the United States.

“I am very pleased to receive this grant so more research can be done on the cancer that affects so many,” said Dr. Zigang Dong, Executive Director of The Hormel Institute.    “More people suffer from sun induced cancer than any other type. The more research funding we have, such as through this federal grant, the more scientists can be hired so progress can be made even faster.  This grant is aimed to find the cause of skin cancer and also prevention methods.”

The funding for research was designated  in The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) (H.R. 1, S. 1 - PDF-1MB), a Federal public law passed by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009.

The Hormel Institute comprises a group of highly successful medical scientists who have focused their efforts on determining the basic molecular mechanisms of cancer development in order to use their findings for the development of new anti-cancer agents.

· Method of restricting calories is important in tumor prevention

· Periods of restriction provide protection

· Calorie restriction alters hormone levels, influences cancer risk

PHILADELPHIA - How you eat may be just as important as how much you eat, if mice studies are any clue.

Cancer researchers have long studied the role of diet on breast cancer risk, but results to date have been mixed. New findings published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest the method by which calories are restricted may be more important for cancer protection than the actual overall degree of calorie restriction.

“Understanding how calorie restriction provides protection against the development of mammary tumors should help us identify pathways that could be targeted for chemoprevention studies,” said Margot P. Cleary, Ph.D., professor at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota. “Further identification of serum factors that are involved in tumor development would possibly provide a way to identify at risk individuals and target interventions to these people.”

Previous studies have shown that intermittent calorie restriction provided greater protection from mammary tumor development than did the same overall degree of restriction, which was implemented in a chronic fashion. The researchers compared changes of a growth factor (IGF-1) in relationship to these two calorie restriction methods - chronic and intermittent - and tumor development beginning in 10-week old female mice at risk to develop mammary tumors. Their hope was to explain why intermittent restriction is more effective.

The overall degree of restriction was 25 percent reduction compared to control mice. Mammary tumor incidence was 71 percent in the control mice who ate the amount of food they wanted, 35 percent among those who were chronically restricted and only nine percent in those who intermittently restricted calories.

The researchers were initially surprised by these findings for several reasons. First, the prevailing wisdom is that the degree of protection from calorie restriction is proportional to the degree of mammary tumor prevention. Second, they originally thought that intermittent calorie restriction might enhance tumor growth due to growth factors being secreted in response to re-feeding, Cleary said.
In an accompanying editorial also published in Cancer Prevention Research, Michael Pollak, M.D., stated that some major challenges of pharmacologic approaches to cancer prevention and/or treatment include defining the underlying causes and determining the relevance of these caloric restriction methods. Pollak is professor of oncology at McGill University and director of the Cancer Prevention Center at the Jewish General Hospital, both in Montreal.

This study “contributes to accumulating evidence that caloric restriction acts by altering hormone levels rather than by directly starving cancers of energy. In particular, lower levels of insulin are associated with reduced food intake, and this may be protective,” said Pollak, who is also an editorial board member for Cancer Prevention Research.

In the editorial Pollak wrote: “there is reason for concern that the ‘obesity epidemic’ may lead to an increased prevalence of a hormonal profile associated with elevated cancer risk and/or an adverse cancer prognosis. Therefore, in addition to its well-known general health benefits, maintaining an ideal body weight is also important in the specific contexts of cancer prevention and improving the prognosis of cancer patients.”

Based on varied findings from clinical trials, Pollak suggested that lifestyle and pharmacologic methods to reduce IGF-1 and insulin deserve ongoing investigations. Cleary agreed, stating that these results may provide interest to more aggressively pursue cancer prevention studies related to calorie restriction.

“Humans frequently regain lost weight discouraging the application of calorie restriction protocols for disease prevention,” she said. “We hope these studies will identify biomarkers and/or pathways that could be used in human studies to determine agents that would mimic calorie restriction.”

“We are very pleased to be filling the labs with world class faculty who are excited to be contributing to the research of The Hormel Institute,” said Dr. Zigang Dong, Executive Director of The Hormel Institute.    “The beautiful new facility we now enjoy provides a very functional and supportive working environment and we are deeply thankful to our generous community for providing it.”

Dr. Rebecca Morris joined The Hormel Institute in October and is leader of the Stem Cells and Cancer laboratory. One of the world’s leading cancer biologists, she comes from Columbia University in New York City.  Dr. Morris enjoys her new research home at The Hormel Institute, new Austin residence and playing in the Community Band.

Dr. Edward “Ted” Hinchcliffe is an expert microscopist and leader in the field of live-cell imaging, and heads the Cellular Dynamics research section.  Dr. Hinchcliffe moved to Austin from the University of Notre Dame with his wife and young family and is pleased to return to Minnesota where Dr. Hinchcliffe earned his Ph.D. (University of Minnesota). 

Joining The Hormel Institute from M.D. Anderson,  the world’s largest medical research center located in Houston, Dr. Yibin Deng leads the new Cell Death and Cancer Genetics section.  Dr. Deng brings expertise in the field of Genetics to The Hormel Institute, aiming to identify new targets for cancer-specific treatment and novel strategies for cancer prevention. “I am happy to become one of the members of The Hormel Institute and pursue cancer research in this supportive and friendly academic environment,” said Dr. Deng.  “Collaboration between The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic provides me with a unique opportunity working with world-renowned cancer research scientists.”

The $23.4 million expansion project was completed in 2008.  The Hormel Foundation provided $13.4 million in support, along with  Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) giving an additional $5 million to provide the majority of financing for the new research facility. Other funding came from Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, the City of Austin, Mower County, the community of Austin and Mower County, grants secured by Congressman Tim Walz and private gifts.   

The expansion has aided in enhancing The Hormel Institute’s position as an international leader in cancer research.   This month The Hormel Institute is featured on the cover of Cancer Research, one of the top research journals in the world.  Additionally, this week Drs. Zigang Dong and Ann M. Bode were notified their article called “Post translational modification of P53 in tumorigenesis,” is the most  highly cited paper in the field of Molecular Biology and Genetics in 2004-2009.  The paper was published in Nature Reviews Cancer, the highest impact cancer research journal in the world.

The Hormel Institute comprises a group of highly successful medical scientists who have focused their efforts on determining the basic molecular mechanisms of cancer development in order to use their findings for the development of new anti-cancer agents.

The work of Dr. Yong Yeon Cho and Dr. Zigang Dong of The Hormel
Institute’s Cellular and Molecular Biology group was featured on the
cover of Cancer Research (May 15, 2009). The work
featured a natural compound known as kaempferol, which is highly
abundant in green onions. This compound was found to potently
suppress cancer cell growth by interacting with an important protein,
referred to as RSK2 that is found at high levels in cancer cells, and
subsequently preventing its activation.