Gift establishes endowed chair in
melanoma research
A
$500,000 gift from an alumnus of MUSC’s colleges of Medicine and
Pharmacy has resulted in a new endowed chair dedicated to melanoma
research. Vincent Peng, M.D., a 1966 graduate of the
College of Pharmacy and 1970 graduate of the College of Medicine, made
his gift to the university’s Hollings Cancer Center and Department of
Dermatology to help scientists learn more about a form of cancer he
felt was poorly understood. Melanoma is a form of skin cancer that
begins in melanocytes, which are the cells that make the pigment
melanin. While melanoma accounts for about 4 percent of all skin
cancers, it is responsible for more than 77 percent of skin cancer
deaths. Nearly 60,000 people in the U.S. will develop the disease this
year, and more than 8,100 will die from it, according to the National
Cancer Institute. 
Dr. Andrew Kraft,
from left, Sen. Fritz Hollings, Dr. Vincent Peng, and Dr. Jerry Reves
gather at the HCC board meeting.“Many other forms of cancer are pretty well understood, generally, but this is not so with melanoma. It’s a wild animal,” said Peng. “As far as research goes, we are a latecomer. There haven’t been many important breakthroughs. So my wife and I thought this is where we ought to invest our resources.”
Peng, a longtime member of the clinical faculty in the Emory University School of Medicine, practices dermatology, Mohs microscopic surgery for skin cancers and dermatopathology in Stockbridge, Ga. He first became interested in skin cancer while performing his residency in dermatology at Emory University in the early 1970s. His particular interest in melanoma began while he was receiving advanced surgical training at the University of Wisconsin under the tutelage of the renowned surgeon Frederich Mohs, M.D., who developed a surgical procedure called Mohs microscopic surgery. This method remains extremely effective in treating most forms of skin cancer—except melanoma, Peng noted.
Peng said an “exponential increase” in the incidence of melanoma led him and his wife, Cecilia, to become actively involved in creating an accelerated research initiative at the Medical University. “I’ve seen what’s going on here [at Hollings Cancer Cancer],” Peng said. “It’s a rising star in cancer research, and we wanted to be part of that.”
Peng believes that the Cecilia and Vincent T. Peng Endowed Chair in Melanoma Research will help attract top researchers to MUSC, perhaps leading to the eventual establishment of an entire center dedicated to discovering a cure for melanoma.
“It’s like the chicken-egg question: Do major centers draw the best people, or do the best people help create the major centers?” asked Peng. “For me, everything you do in life, you have to start with a nucleus point and build on it. I believe this endowed chair will be the nucleus point that helps attract the people who could one day cure melanoma.”
Hollings Cancer Center director Andrew Kraft, M.D., said that the Pengs’ gift will put the center one step closer to achieving highly coveted designation as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.
“Melanoma is one of the few forms of cancer that are actually increasing in incidence, yet there’s very little productive research taking place at this point,” said Kraft. “The Pengs have enabled us to create a very unique resource, as far as cancer research programs go, one with national and international significance. This truly does set Hollings Cancer Center apart from most other cancer centers. We’re extremely grateful for the Pengs’ confidence and generosity.”
The Cecilia and Vincent T. Peng Endowed Chair in Melanoma Research will allow Hollings Cancer Center and the Medical University’s Department of Dermatology to attract knowledgeable and experienced faculty, build the appropriate infrastructure for further discovery, and promote more extensive collaborations within the Medical University and the Southeast region.
Ultimately, this chair will allow the department to enhance its basic and clinical science research efforts, continue ongoing clinical trials, and develop new and novel projects in combination with the basic research departments at MUSC, eventually leading to breakthroughs in the treatment and ultimate cure of melanoma.
Friday, March 23, 2007
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