Clinical Cancer Prevention

Our Mission

To reduce cancer incidence and mortality through multidisciplinary cancer prevention programs focused on translational and clinical research, patient care, and education.

Our Goal

To establish and conduct the highest quality collaborative translational and clinical research program investigating risk assessment, risk reduction interventions, cancer risk and early detection markers, and cancer screening
To support and enable the Cancer Prevention Center to deliver cancer prevention, screening and surveillance services, to conduct state-of-the-art cancer research and to translate these research findings to the general population as the new standard of care
To establish a cancer prevention education program to train the next generation of cancer prevention researchers, clinicians and health care providers
To disseminate cancer prevention advances throughout MD Anderson, the community, the nation and the world.

Department Objectives

Long-Term

Powel H. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair

Expand the clinical application of basic science, translational, epidemiological and behavioral science research
Promote and maintain multidisciplinary approaches, including the integration of personnel and resources of clinical and laboratory programs. Develop and enhance collaborations with other departments both within and outside the division (i.e., chemoprevention)
Continue to evaluate ongoing molecular diagnostic activities related to genetic testing and facilitate strategic decision making regarding the services to offer at MD Anderson
Continue to develop clinically relevant preclinical chemoprevention models through the prevention lab (e.g., tissue/organ gene knockout models)

Short Term

Complete faculty recruitment for the medical director position in Clinical Cancer Genetics and for an assistant/associate professor in clinical research
Consolidate and expand current research programs in the areas of GI, GU, skin, breast and esophageal carcinogenesis
Maintain leadership in accrual to the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (STAR)
Implement the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT)
Continue to strengthen and expand collaborations with the Department of Carcinogenesis at Science Park and the Center for Research on Environmental Diseases
Significantly expand the overall laboratory program in terms of space and resources