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Shortly after the seriousness of Frank’s illness became known, a group of scientists and friends began planning an honorary seminar and early 75th birthday party. The invitees were from all over the country and some from abroad.
“Hearing about the plans gave Frank such a lift,” Ardythe recalls. “He felt very loved and admired, which he was.”
Frank died two weeks before the event. The seminar was held and the birthday celebration became a memorial service, with more than 100 guests.
“One of the letters written to me after Frank’s death came from a man whose father had died of the same diagnosis and lack of treatment 23 years ago,” Ardythe says. “It made me both sad and angry. Nothing had changed in 23 years!”
During this time, Ardythe called Vanderbilt-Ingram in her search for information. She was connected with Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D., who had just become interim cancer center director at the time. “She helped me understand the whole process and was so personally involved with her sympathy and understanding,” Ardythe recalls. “That’s when we heard about Vanderbilt’s Discovery Grant Program, and it seemed a perfect way to have something positive come out of our experiences.”
The Discovery Grant in Research for Cancer of Unknown Primary in Loving Memory of Frank Jones, Ph.D., was established by Kenneth and Ann Jones, Frank’s brother and sister-in-law. So far, 60 people have contributed to this grant, which is designed to generate high-risk discoveries that can be then used to leverage greater support from federal grants.
This grant will fund research at Vanderbilt-Ingram into how cancer spreads to and destroys bone, a significant consequence of CUP. In fact, in many patients with CUP, the majority of “tumor burden” – the total amount of cancer in the body – is in the bones.
Gregory Mundy, M.D., John A. Oates Chair in Translational Medicine and director of the Vanderbilt Center in Bone Biology, and his colleagues are working to understand the specific biologic mechanisms responsible for bone metastasis. The ultimate goal is to develop new approaches to prevent bone destruction, fractures, pain, and tumor spread and growth.
Specific projects include:
- Research in animal models of human cancer to understand exactly how – at the molecular level – cancers destroy bone.
- Collaborations with scientists in the Vanderbilt School of Engineering and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to study effects of cancer on bone quality and fragility.
- Studies to determine how bone cell activity can affect cancer cell growth. The team has found that drugs that alter bone cell activity also make cancers grow less well in bone.
“Ultimately, the objective is to develop effective approaches to improve both survival and quality of life for patients with cancer metastases in the bone, and potentially to develop ways to prevent this devastating spread of cancer,” Mundy said. “While this knowledge will benefit patients with other types of cancer that spread to the bone, the group that may benefit the most will be those who face cancer of unknown primary. This approach has been shown over the past decade to improve the quality of life with other cancers that frequently involve bone, such as breast cancer and myeloma.”
Ardythe remains hopeful that the work will yield answers and treatments to help families in similar situations. And she hopes for more information and resources, including a comprehensive Web site, for families facing this complex and devastating diagnosis.
“Cancer care should be a group effort, including all relevant medical professionals and patients and families,” she says. “I hope someday that everything learned can help others face this horrible disease with more understanding.” 
For more information about cancer of unknown primary and doctors at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center who treat CUP, log on to www.vicc.org, click on cancer types and go to carcinoma of unknown primary. Or call our Cancer Information Program at (800) 811-8480.
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