WHEREAS, The Council of the City of Philadelphia is pleased and proud to join Fox Chase Cancer Center in recognizing a seminal discovery in cancer biology that occurred in our City. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of the Philadelphia chromosome, a milestone that led to the first targeted therapy for cancer and the era of personalized medicine; and
WHEREAS, The Philadelphia chromosome was discovered in 1959, when David A. Hungerford, a graduate student at Fox Chase Cancer Center, and Peter C. Nowell, a pathologist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine detected an abnormality on chromosome 22 in cells taken from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). This chromosomal abnormality would become known as the Philadelphia chromosome, named for the City in which Hungerford and Nowell both worked. The 1960 publication of their research marked the first scientific discovery to lead to a targeted therapy for cancer and opened the door to a whole new world of approaching cancer therapy. Today, many patients with CML live for years thanks to a drug therapy that targets the cancer-causing protein produced by the Philadelphia chromosome; and
WHEREAS, Fox Chase Cancer Center has launched the Institute for Personalized Medicine, a program aimed at matching emerging targeted drug therapies to the unique genetic profiles of individual patient tumors. This program has been able to use this information to work toward the development of new cancer treatments through collaboration with Fox Chase's highly regarded phase 1 clinical trials program. According to Dr. Michael V. Seiden, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center, The Philadelphia chromosome represents the dream that every researcher has, to make a dramatic difference in patients' lives.; and
WHEREAS, In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the discovery of the Philadelphia chromosome, Fox Chase Cancer Center is hosting the Philadelphia Chromosome Symposium: Past, Present and Future, on September 28, 2010 at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, 315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. This event brings together members of the oncology community, including scientists associated with the original discovery, to celebrate its impact on science and medicine and to look at the state of personalized medicine today; now therefore be it,
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby declare September 28, 2010, Philadelphia Chromosome Day in the city of Philadelphia. In doing so, we honor the doctors and scientists who labor every day in the fight against this dreaded disease, and
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Dr. Michael V. Seiden, MD, PhD, president and CEO of the Fox Chase Cancer Center, as evidence of the sincere respect and admiration of this legislative body.
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