It was a lecture that should have been heard by a large and broad cross-section of the Lawrence and Kansas University community. It was a lecture that would have inspired young men and women to seek a career in the vast field of medical research. It was a lecture that would have given hope to those who are battling cancer and those who have friends and family fighting the disease, and it was a lecture that would have given anyone with the ability to contribute private funds to cancer research to dig a bit deeper in their pockets to support such efforts.

Likewise, it would have been good if members of the Kansas Legislature could have heard the lecture because they probably would have left the packed auditorium giving much thought to the level of fiscal support they should be earmarking for cancer research at the Kansas University Medical Center.

The lecture delivered by Dr. Brian J. Druker was the eighth Higuchi Memorial Lecture, a series that honors the late Takeru Higuchi, a KU distinguished professor of pharmacy and chemistry who died in 1987. He was a true giant in his field of research and often was described as the father of pharmaceutical chemistry.

The list of previous Higuchi lecturers is impressive and includes national and international leaders in the fields of biochemistry, cellular biology, molecular biology and the human genome, pharmaceutical research, bioterrorism and the genetic causes of Alzheimer’s disease.

It is a terrific lecture series, and a “must attend” should be marked on calendars when future Higuchi lectures are announced.

Druker is a gifted speaker, as well as a world-class oncologist and cancer researcher. His work in this field played a pivotal role in the development of Gleevec, a drug that targets the molecular defect that causes chronic myeloid leukemia.

Gleevec has enjoyed almost unbelievable results when used to attack CML. Those taking the pill didn’t suffer hair loss, fatigue, nausea or other side effects of chemotherapy or radiation treatments. The best part, however, is that the pill works. Clinical trials started in 1998. Records of 5-year follow-ups are available now and reveal an excellent cure or remission rate.

As noted, Druker is truly outstanding in his area of cancer research, and there’s no question he can deliver a scientific address using the most technical and scientific terms to satisfy even the most critical listener. However, he also can and does deliver a powerful talk in layman’s language that hits the bull’s-eye in explaining a complicated and technical subject.

The title of his Thursday lecture was “Cancer Therapy in the 21st Century,” and the manner in which he outlined and described the advances being made in cancer research and the key questions yet to be answered was inspiring.

He pointed out that in 1900 the major causes of death in the United States were several infectious diseases, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, diarrhea and enteritis, diseases that were thought to be incurable but now have been largely eliminated or controlled through treatment. In the 1940s and 1950s, polio was a dreaded, deadly and crippling illness, and today, there are fewer than 100 cases reported annually in the United States. Likewise, smallpox, measles and mumps have been treated and almost eradicated by vaccines.

Druker pointed out that 25 percent of all deaths in the United States are cancer-related.

He said the reason he and others are optimistic about finding a cure for cancer is that research and new treatments are opening new methods of fighting the disease. He used the function and purpose of a thermostat in a home to illustrate his point. When a thermostat doesn’t work and allows the temperature in a home or office to become too hot or too cold, the repairman looks for what has gone wrong, what part of the device has broken and then figures out how to repair the malfunction or replace the broken part.

He said the same reasoning is being used in cancer research.

When researchers find out what is broken – and with the knowledge gained in gene and genome research, they eventually will be able to locate the trouble – they will be able to fix it. He said early diagnosis and targeted treatment still are terribly important in the cancer battle. He said genomes have provided a list of body parts and now it is critical for both cancer research and funding for that research to be accelerated.

Druker said he and all of those in cancer research want the public eventually to be able to think of cancer as we think today about infectious diseases, as something that can be cured. Make cancer a “no-longer-feared disease,” he said.

He didn’t pull any punches when discussing the ethics of hospitals or clinics charging a deposit for certain types of clinical trial treatments. He called this unethical and said hospitals and clinics can find ways to pay for these costly treatments without charging the patients.

Val Stella, a distinguished professor of pharmaceutical chemistry at KU, opened the Thursday lecture with a tribute to Higuchi, outlining his career at KU as a world-class researcher and someone who inspired his associates to become the very best in their respective fields of research.

Stella, who along with others in the Higuchi program select speakers for their superior series, closed the evening’s program by saying it is the goal of those who plan the event to get people “who can turn you on.” Turning to look at Druker, he added, “You’re infectious.”

There’s no question that those who heard the Druker presentation left the Higuchi center enthused, excited, inspired and more optimistic than they were when they arrived and took their seats in the auditorium. They were, indeed, “turned on.”

The people at the Higuchi complex are world class and one of the university’s greatest assets.