DEAN A. TROYER, M.D.,
Professor of Pathology

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Department of Pathology – Mail Code 7750
The University of Texas Health Science Center
7703 Floyd Curl Drive
San Antonio, Texas 78229-3900
INFORMATION
Email: troyer@uthscsa.edu
Phone: (210) 567-4101   Fax: (210) 567-2367


EDUCATION:
1978 M.D., Indiana University School of Medicine
1973 B.A., Earlham College
 
POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING
1982-84 National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
1978-82 Internship/Residency, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
 
HONORS AND AWARDS
1982-84 National Research Service Award, NIH, 1982-1984


PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIPS:
1. American Association for Cancer Research
2. The American Society for Investigative Pathology
3. The American Society for Cell Biology
4. The American Society of Nephrology
5. Texas Medical Association
6. The National Kidney Foundation


DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH:
   Prostate Cancer: My primary research interest is prostate cancer. The vision is to develop a Urologic Oncology Institute in which a daily interaction of clinicians and investigators occurs. Collaborating investigators include Ian Thompson, M.D. Chief, Division of Urology; Dean Troyer, M.D., Professor, Dept. Pathology; Robin Leach, Ph.D., Professor, Dept. Cellular and Structural Biology; Susan Naylor, Professor, Dept. Cellular and Structural Biology; Teresa Johnson-Pais, Asst. Professor, Dept. Pediatrics; Susan Padalecki, Instructor, Cellular and Structural Biology; Brad Pollock, Ph.D., Dept. Pediatrics. The strategy is to lean heavily on assays of human tissue and biologics to identify biomarkers useful in clinical decision making that perform as sensitive and specific markers of early diagnosis and risk assessment. Thus, even though prostate specific antigen (PSA) is the most useful serum test for cancer diagnosis, only 25% of men with a “positive” PSA will have a positive biopsy. The approach is primarily through gene discovery and identification of polymorphisms/markers that will serve as markers themselves or identify proteins that are potential markers. The San Antonio Center for Biomarkers of Risk for Prostate Cancer (SABOR), an NIH funded clinical and epidemiological center of the Early Detection Research Network (http://www3.cancer.gov/prevention/cbrg/edrn/) is a prospective, ethnically rich population-based trial which incorporates prospective screening for prostate cancer with extensive collection of data elements (diet, family history, demographics, etc.) and biologics (buffy coat; tissues; serum; toe nails). The key factors in this program are: leadership from a dedicated, nationally recognized Urologist, Dr. Ian Thompson; collaboration of basic and clinical investigators; an electronic data base; an extensive archive of prostate tissues and other biologics accompanied by clinical and demographic data; a long term vision whose ultimate goal is prevention and risk assessment and whose short term goals are the development of effective biomarkers.


SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

1. Thompson, I.M., Troyer, D. Prostate Cancer: Prostate Specific Antigen, Screening, Clinical Management, and Prevention IN: Twenty Common Genitourinary Problems, chief author Joel Teichman, McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y.

2. Taylor GP, Troyer DA, Giambernardi TA, Klebe RJ. A Direct Method for Extraction of mRNA from Frozen Sections. J Pathology 184:332-335, 1998

3. Saric T, Brkanac Z, Troyer DA, Padalecki SS, Sarosdy M, Williams K, Abadesco L, Leach RJ, O’Connell P. Genetic Pattern of Prostate Cancer Progression. Int J Cancer 81:219-224, 1999.

4. Padalecki, S.S., Troyer, D.A., Hansen, M.F., Saric, T., Schneider, B.G., O’Connell, P., Leach, R.J. Identification of two distinct regions of allelic imbalance on chromosome 18Q in metastatic prostate cancer. Int J Cancer. 2000 Mar 1;85(5):654-8.

5. Hamilton, M.L., Guo, Z.M., Fuller, C.D., Van Remmen, H., Ward, W.F., Austad, S.N., Troyer, D.A., Thompson, I.M., Richardson, A. A Reliable Assessment of 8-oxo-2-deoxyguanosine levels in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA using the sodium iodide method to isolate DNA. Nucleic Acid Research, 2001, 29: 2117

6. Balic, I., Graham, S.T., Troyer, D.A., Higgins, B., Pollock, B.H., Johnson-Pais, T., Thompson, I.M., Leach, R.J. Androgen receptor length polymorphism associated with prostate cancer risk in Hispanics. Int. J. Oncology , in the press

RECENT ABSTRACTS:

1. Padalecki, S.S., Troyer, D.A., Johnson-Pais, T.L., Weldon, K., Killary, A.M., and Leach, R.J. Suppression of Prostate Cancer Tumorigenicity by Chromosome 18. Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) Scientific Workshop, Chicago, IL., 9/25-9/27, 2000

2. 1Shen, G. L., 1Higgs, B., 2Leach, R., 3Thompson, I.M., 4Troyer, D.A., A Prostate Cancer-specific Gene Set based on Whole Genome Oligonucleotide Expression Profiling 93rd Annual Meeting, Am. Assoc. Cancer Res. , San Francisco, CA., Apr. 6-10, 2002, 1Gene Logic Inc., Gaithersburg, Maryland; University of Texas Health Science Center, Departments of 2Cellular and Structural Biology, 3Urology, and 4Pathology, San Antonio Texas

Updated: 5/27/02