The Role of Snail in the Regulation of the Invasive Phenotype in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Targeted Therapeutics Research Award
Funded equally by LUNGevity Foundation and the Thoracic Surgery Foundation
Jane Yanagawa, MD
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles
CA

When cancer cells start spreading to other parts of the body, their shape changes through a process called EMT (epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition). The process of EMT in non-small cell lung cancer cells is mediated by the Snail protein. Dr. Yanagawa is studying how the Snail protein controls the EMT process through a protein called MMP2.