The Rolanette and Berdon Lawrence Bone Disease Program of Texas
Making a Difference in the Fight Against Bone Disease
In the United States today, 10 million individuals suffer from osteoporosis (porous bone), and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low bone mass, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis. Anyone over the age of 50 is at risk, making osteoporosis a major public health threat.
Recent advances in treatment regimens for breast and prostate cancer have greatly improved patient survival; however, these therapies can weaken bones. Increasingly, patients who are otherwise cured, or whose cancer is successfully managed for years, are developing osteoporosis at an accelerated rate due to cancer treatment.
Bone metastasis, which occurs most often when breast, prostate, lung, kidney and thyroid cancers spread to bones, is one of the most frequent causes of pain in individuals with cancer. Metastasis to bone is the primary cause of death in prostate cancer.
The Rolanette and Berdon Lawrence Bone Disease Program of Texas, a collaborative research, clinical and education program of Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, was established in 2002 to capitalize on the strengths of these two institutions. The Rolanette and Berdon Lawrence Bone Disease Program of Texas seeks to improve basic and translational research of bone diseases and to convert basic science findings to more effective treatment and prevention options.
Our Mission
- Develop bone-forming treatment for all degenerative bone diseases
- Improve prevention and treatment for bone cancer metastasis
- Foster existing collaborations between the two institutions in this area
Upcoming Events and Announcements
November 6, 2009 - Bone Seminar Series: TGFb-1 Induced Migration of BMSCs to Couple Bone Resorption and Formation: A Potential Therapeutic Target for Bone Remodeling Disorders, by Xu Cao, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL.
1:30-2:30pm at the AT&T Telehealth Center, room FC1.2002 of the Faculty Center Building, 1400 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas
December 4, 2009 - Bone Seminar Series: T Cells: Unexpected Players in the Mechanism of Action on PTH and Estrogen Deficiency in Bone, by Roberto Pacifi, MD, Herndon Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.
1:30-2:30pm at the AT&T Telehealth Center, room FC1.2002 of the Faculty Center Building, 1400 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas
Last updated October 14, 2009 (CS)