AACC Announces Cancer Research Award

For significant contributions in cancer research diagnostics, Dr. Ulf-Hakan Stenman was presented with the Morton K. Schwartz Award from the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC, Washington, DC, USA) during its annual meeting in Orlando (FL, USA) in 2005.

Dr. Stenman is head of the Hormone and Tumor Marker Laboratories at Helsinki University Central Hospital (Finland) and professor of clinical chemistry at Helsinki University. Most of his research has concerned tumor markers and hormone assays. Dr. Stenman's approach combines basic research with a clinical orientation aimed at solving diagnostically relevant problems, which has led to the development of several assays now in widespread use. Along with coworkers, he identified a peptide called tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor, which was shown to be a strong and independent prognostic marker for ovarian, renal, and several gastrointestinal cancers. This research also led to sensitive and specific immunoassays for markers of pancreatitis.

Dr. Stenman's group also made several advances in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing to improve the diagnostic utility of PSA and to help differentiate between prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Using peptides specific for PSA, the group has developed a new type of test, called an immunopeptidometric assay, which uses combinations of antibodies and peptides as ligands.

Dr. Stenman has worked with international organizations for the standardization of immunoassay methods, and he is a member of the editorial board of 10 scientific journals. Sponsored by Bayer HealthCare Diagnostics Division (Tarrytown, NY, USA), the award included a U.S.$5,000 honorarium.

Morton K. Schwartz, for whom the award is named, was an illustrious former president of the AACC who spent much of his career in cancer diagnostics research.






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American Association for Clinical Chemistry