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FCG Internacional Science and Research Award 2009: CARLOS CORDÓN-CARDÓ

 “To the Spanish researcher Carlos Cordón-Cardo, of the University of Columbia Medical Center, for his pioneering work in the field of the molecular pathology of cancer, an emerging bio-medical discipline that promises to revolutionize the diagnosis of tumours and give an impulse to personalized cancer therapies. For 24 years he worked at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York, where he created and headed a division that established the fundamentals of this new scientific area. His laboratory was the first to identify alterations in some genes involved in several types of tumours. He has also played a fundamental role in the creation of new bio-technological companies that have brought to life the discoveries made in molecular biology.”

According to the Jury for the FCG International Award for Science and Research met in Valladolid, Spain (June 19^th, 2009), Chaired by: Mr. José Ballesta Germán, Professor of Medicine at the University of Murcia, and made up by the following members: Mr. Alberto Aguirre de Cárcer, Deputy Editor of ABC Newspaper; Mr. Julio Fermoso García, Professor of Medicine at the University of Salamanca and President of Caja Duero Savings Bank; Mr. Luis Jaramillo Guerreira, Director of COPE Radio Castilla Leon; Dr. Regina Revilla Pedreira, Director of External Relations and Communication at Merck, Sharp & Dohme; Mr. Alejandro Royo-Villanova Payá, President of El Norte de Castilla Newspaper.

CARLOS CORDÓN-CARDÓ - Biography

 1957, Calella (Barcelona, Spain)

Carlos Cordon-Cardo has recently joined Columbia University as Vice-Chair of Pathology, Professor of Pathology and Urology, Associate Director for Infrastructure at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), and member of the Internal Advisory Board of the HICCC. Prior to this post, he spent the past 24 years at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, where he created and was the first Director of the Division of Molecular Pathology.

Dr. Cordon-Cardo obtained his M.D. from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, in 1980, and his Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Genetics from Cornell University Medical College in 1985. He has pioneered the development and implementation of an oncologic molecular pathology discipline, and more recently participated in the creation of the "systems pathology" platform. He is internationally recognized for his studies on experimental pathology and molecular oncology, including analyses of multidrug resistance and alterations of tumor suppressor genes in human cancer, mainly those deregulating cell cycle.

One of his most important contributions was the discovery that P-glycoprotein, the product encoded by the multidrug resistance gene (MDR-1), is expressed not only in tumor cells but also in endothelial cells, mainly those corresponding to blood tissue barriers, and participating in the creation of "pharmacological sanctuaries." Studies from his laboratory were among the firsts to identify alterations of the pRB, the protein encoded by the prototype tumor suppressor gene Retinoblastoma (RB1), in adult tumors.

Groundbreaking work from his laboratory disclosed the clinical implications of detecting TP53 and RB alterations as they relate to disease progression and death due to several solid tumors, including bladder cancer and soft tissue sarcomas. In addition, molecular analyses of human tumors lead to novel insights on the relationship between p53 and Hdm2. This became the leading tumor suppressor gene-oncogene interaction in human cancers.

Another important contribution has been the proposal of a model for tumor progression of human bladder cancer, defining two distinct pathways for early tumors. His studies were among the first to reveal the relevance of p16 and p27 as a tumor suppressor genes. Work from his laboratory has revealed the importance of the tumor suppressor PTEN gene in bladder and prostate cancer.

More recently, studies from his laboratory and collaborative efforts has provided evidence for the critical role of androgen receptor overexpression in prostate cancer progression and resistance to hormonal therapy. Current work is aimed at understanding the cooperative effects of mutations of cell cycle regulatory and anti-apoptotic genes in cancer, as well as to develop and characterize animal models for loss of function of specific pathways by targeted gene disruption or "knock-out" approaches, using bladder cancer and sarcomas as experimental model systems.

Expression profiling using high through put microarrays is a recent and logical extension of the work carried out, providing novel insights into the molecular classification of soft tissue sarcomas, bladder and prostate cancer. More recently, studies from his laboratory have linked adult stem cells and cancer, revealing that certain tumors originate from distinct differentiation stages in stem cell fate and development. It is the working hypothesis of this group that cancer stem cells reside in "nitches" that can be better identified and analyzed using the systems pathology platform that they have developed.

Dr. Cordon-Cardo holds several official scientific posts, including membership in the WHO Collaborating Centers for Urologic Tumors (Sweeden) and the State Legislative Committee of the American Association for Cancer Research. He has been recently appointed to the Translational Chair of the Genitourinary Section of Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG). He served as the President for the Solid Tumor Chapter of the Association for Molecular Pathology (2000), and Member of the Review Committee for Cancer Centers and Research Programs of the National Cancer Institute (1995-2001). He has received a number of awards, including the "1991 Boyer Young Investigator Award," Membership on the "Roll of Honour" of the International Union Against Cancer (since 1996), "Academico de Numero" of the "Academia Medico-Quirurgica Española" (1995) and more recently as "Honorary Member" of the "Reial Academia de Medicina de Catalunya" (2007). He delivered the "1996 C.G. Ahlstrom Lecture" at the Annual Meeting of the Swedish Society of Medicine, and received the "Gold Medal of the Swedish Society of Physicians." Dr. Cordon-Cardo delivered the "2000 Don Santiago Ramon y Cajal Lecture" at the Annual Meeting of the Spanish-American Medical and Dental Society, and he became an Honorary Member of the Society in October 2003.

In 2002, Dr. Cordon-Cardo was elected as a Lifetime Member of the "Strathmore's Who's Who" and of the "American Registry of Outstanding Professionals." Dr. Cordon-Cardo also delivered the "16th Buchernal Lecture" in New York (2003), and the "Lliço Pi I Sunyer" at the University of Barcelona (2006). Dr. Cordon-Cardo also received the "Gold Medal of Medical Sciences "Govierno de Galicia" (2004) in Spain. More recently, Dr. Cordon-Cardo has been bestowed a "Doctor Honoris Causa" by the Universidad de Barcelona (2006), and "Member of Honor" at the "Reial Academia de Medicina de Catalunya," Spain.

Dr. Cordon-Cardo is one of the highly cited authors in biomedical sciences ["Highly Cited Researcher - Clinical Medicine Category," Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) (http://www.isihighlycited.com)]. Based on his scientific contributions, Dr. Cordon-Cardo has received numerous patents, and he has mentored over 70 investigators. He is the Principal Investigator on several grants from the National Cancer Institute, including Program Projects on Soft Tissue Sarcoma and Modes of p53 Regulation, as well as a Co-Principal Investigator of the MSKCC Prostate Cancer SPORE. He is also at present the Sponsor of training grants to junior faculty members.