Pitt Team Gets Federal Grant to Find New Head and Neck Cancer Drugs
PITTSBURGH, Aug. 19 – Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have been awarded an $800,000 federal grant to develop agents to inhibit a cellular signaling protein that plays a key role in triggering and supporting the growth of many cancers, including cancers of the head and neck. A member of a protein class called Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription, activated STAT3 in excess levels can drive the transformation of healthy cells into