Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Dr. Shofer’s research builds on work of earlier investigators who developed a lung cancer risk signature based on genetic changes in lung cells in smokers. Dr. Shofer hypothesizes that the lung cancer risk signature model is an indicator of how lung cells change during the process of cancer development. Should his hypothesis be correct, the lung cancer risk signature could be established as a sensitive biomarker capable of diagnosing patients with lung cancer by checking cells taken from the throat using a swab.

Dr. Borgia is working to develop new biomarkers to strengthen the capabilities of the existing blood test for identifying the presence of metastatic progress in non-small cell lung cancer that he has developed. He plans to adapt the blood test to a diagnostic card format so that high-risk individuals can put blood droplets on diagnostic cards at home and mail them to a test facility where the blood will be extracted and tested for the biomarkers in the panel.

Dr. Borgia has developed a blood test for identifying the presence of metastatic progression in non-small cell lung cancer. His current project allows for revision of the test to improve its accuracy and potentially reach an accuracy rate that will allow it to be useful as a stand-alone staging test.

Patients with EGFR mutations are treated with EGFR drugs such as gefitinib (Iressa) and erlotinib (Tarceva). However, the cancer cells eventually develop resistance to these drugs. Dr. Sharma is  aiming to understand the processes by which non-small cell lung cancer cells develop resistance to gefitinib and erlotinib as well as  how these processes can be targeted to develop new therapeutic strategies for patients in whom gefitinib and erlotinib have failed.

Cancer-causing proteins called heat shock proteins (HSPs) protect cancer cells from the effects of chemotherapy. Dr. Regan is testing how inhibiting the protein chaperon HSP90 affects the growth of different lung cancer cells.

The p53 gene can stop cells from becoming cancerous. It is mutated in non-small cell lung cancer, allowing cancer cells to grow in an uncontrolled manner. Dr. Duan is evaluating whether a new type of targeted therapy called PRIMA-1, used alone or in combination with other chemotherapies such as cisplatin, can stop the growth of non-small cell lung cancer cells.

Dr. Krupnick’s laboratory has shown that non-small cell lung cancer may develop resistance to immune-mediated destruction due to IFN gamma insensitivity. Dr. Krupnick is now investigating his hypothesis that lung cancer cells develop the ability to escape the immune system by stopping the production of IFN gamma.

The protein osteopontin plays a significant role in the malignant potential of numerous types of cancer, including lung cancer. There are three distinct forms of this protein in humans. Dr. Donington is studying how the individual forms play significantly different roles in determining the invasive metastatic potential in lung cancer.

Dr. Adusumilli is studying patients who underwent surgery for early-stage lung cancer but whose lung cancer returned because of a condition in which the cancer extends to the pleural membrane covering the lung cancer. Using genetic engineering, Dr. Adusumilli is modifying the patient’s own immune cells in a way that may not only eliminate the spread of tumor cells to the pleura but may also treat the spread of the cancer by tumors too small to be detected.

The rationale behind Dr. Goodglick’s research is that the hormone estrogen and estrogen-pathway activation are important for lung cancer progression. Aromatase is an enzyme that makes estrogen in the body. Dr. Goodglick is conducting extensive pre-clinical evaluations of three aromatase inhibitors to understand steps in the estrogen stimulation pathway that affect tumor progression.