An Interview was done with Dr. Arul M. Chinnaiyan, who was awarded Sjöberg Prize worth one million US dollars for the year 2022, for his discovery of the fusion gene responsible for more than half of all prostate cancer cases.
Dr. Arul is an S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology and Urology at the University of Michigan Medical School, in USA. Interestingly the Sjöberg Prize was established by Bengt Sjöberg, a businessman who was diagnosed with cancer and he donated two billion Swedish kronor to promote scientific research that primarily focuses on cancer, health and the environment.
The award itself is instituted through the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences that screens and selects the Laureates for Sjöberg Prize. Dr. Arul was awarded the prize and his citation reads – “For the discovery of recurrent gene fusions in prostate cancer.”
What is Prostate Gland and Prostate Cancer?
Prostate gland is a sex gland in men and it is the size of a small lemon or walnut that sits under the urinary bladder. The function of the prostate to produce the fluid that nourishes and transports sperms in men. Prostate cancer is a common cancer and after skin cancers is the commonest cancer in men from most regions of the world. Advanced prostate cancer causes over 250,000 deaths worldwide every year.
Prostate cancer mostly develops in older men and the average age of men who get the cancer is about 66 years. It is estimated that about one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. It is generally a silent cancer and most cancers are diagnosed in advanced stage. Its incidence is common among the black population where it can present in a more aggressive form.
Source: Medindia
