UCI Cancer Center Wins Grant

ORANGE — A UC Irvine cancer research center has received a $2.7-million grant to test whether a soybean derivative is effective in preventing oral cancer, hospital officials said.

The university’s Chao Family Clinical Cancer Research Center received the money from the National Cancer Institute to conduct clinical tests of a new medicine, according to spokeswoman Nadine Wilck.

The medicine, the Bowman-Birk Inhibitor, is a soybean product that is expected to prevent oral cancer by diminishing leukoplakia, or white spots that appear as lesions in the mouth and are known to be precursors of cancer.

Wilck said the center is seeking 50 patients who have that condition and are willing to receive treatment for six to eight weeks. Hospital researchers are trying to determine the correct dosage of the medicine, the spokeswoman said.

The study will be conducted at UCI Medical Center in Orange and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach.

Major causes of oral leukoplakia are excessive alcohol consumption and use of tobacco. The condition is usually diagnosed during routine dental exams.