RELEASE ON RECEIPT








                                                     CONTACT: Marguerite Beck

	                    U.VA. CANCER CENTER RECEIVES 
	                   CLINICAL CENTER STATUS FROM NCI 

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA., Jan. 17 --The University of Virginia Cancer 
Center has been designated as one of 18 Clinical Centers in the country by 
the National Cancer Institute (NCI)  of the National Institutes of Health 
(NIH). The designation is given to cancer centers with demonstrated 
excellence in basic and clinical research, as well as the organization and 
resources necessary to promote interdisciplinary research, according to NCI 
officials.
	Along with the new designation, U.Va.'s Cancer Center will receive 
$3.8 million over the next four years to support interdisciplinary cancer 
research.
	"It is the responsibility of the country's academic medical centers 
to develop the next generation of cancer therapies," said Dr. Robert M. Carey, 
dean of the School of Medicine. "To help meet this responsibility, the 
University has constructed additional research laboratories, recruited new 
investigators and opened a new interdisciplinary cancer clinic. We are very 
pleased that the NCI has recognized the excellence of our oncology research 
and clinical programs."
	Recent laboratory studies that are being translated into experimental 
therapies at U.Va. include: the use of a growth factor receptor for certain 
kinds of lung cancer and head and neck tumors; and gene therapy trials for 
brain tumors and melanomas.
	For additional information, contact Dr. Charles E. Myers, director of 
the U.Va. Cancer Center at 804-982-4190.
	                                 ###
                                                            January 16, 1996