Research Database

Dr. Mazzone is identifying exhaled breath biomarkers for the detection of early-stage lung cancer. This breath biomarker work may also lead to a new way to characterize lung cancers, determine their prognosis, and predict and monitor their response to therapy.

Dr. Moghaddam is investigating how airway inflammation can lead to lung cancer.  The factor NF-κβ is involved in both inflammation and carcinogenesis. Dr. Moghaddam’s hypothesis is that NF-κβ is a likely candidate for the promotion of lung cancer by inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients.

The KRAS gene is the most common mutation in non-small cell lung cancer. Dr. Onaitis is studying how mutations of the KRAS gene affect different types of cells in the lungs and how these differences can be used to develop a targeted therapy that can lessen the effects of KRAS in lung cancer cells.

KCNK9 potassium channel activity is involved in the development of cancer, including lung cancers. Dr. Shikano is studying how this activity is regulated. An understanding of this process may lead to the development of a treatment that targets the channel activity.

Dr. Sittampalam is determining whether circulating tumor cells can be a useful blood-based tumor marker in untreated patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer who are planning to receive chemotherapy. He is also exploring the feasibility of genomic profiling using circulating tumor cells.

Dr. Tryggestad is developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based methods to characterize breathing motion. This information can then be used for radiotherapy planning, delivery, and optimization for the treatment of lung cancer patients.

HSP90, a heat shock protein, protects cancer cells from chemotherapy. Dr. Vielhauer’s laboratory is developing novel targeted therapy that selectively blocks HSP90 and kills lung cancer cells.

Dr. Wigle is investigating the effectiveness of stereotactic radiation therapy (SBRT) versus surgery in patients with compromised pulmonary function. This project is a phase II clinical trial whose results will set the stage for more-definitive phase III trials.

A region in chromosome 7 has more copies than normal in patients with adenocarcinomas. Dr. Wilgus is determining whether these extra copies contribute to the development of lung cancer and how it can be targeted to lessen its effects.

Dr. Yendamuri is conducting a clinical trial among stage-1 non-small cell lung cancer patients to confirm a microRNA signature for the prediction of the recurrence of lung cancer after surgery. He then will develop a blood-based microRNA profile for the detection of lung cancer recurrence.

Dr. Yendamuri is conducting a clinical trial among stage-1 non-small cell lung cancer patients to confirm a microRNA signature for the prediction of the recurrence of lung cancer after surgery.  He then will develop a blood-based microRNA profile for the detection of lung cancer recurrence.

Dr. Baldwin is identifying and testing new therapeutic targets for KRAS-positive lung cancer. KRAS activates the factor NF-κβ, which, when abnormally active, can contribute to the growth of lung tumors. This activation involves two kinases, and well-validated inhibitors of these pathways exist. This project is determining whether these inhibitors will block the initiation and/or progression of lung tumors.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Genes that can suppress the development of tumors are often lost or silenced during the development of human lung tumors. Because they function as a “brake” that normally prevents the onset of lung tumors, they provide new targets for the development of replacement therapies for the effective treatment of lung cancers. Dr. Lisanti is testing the effectiveness of the replacement of a novel tumor suppressor gene, caveolin-1.

The IDO protein stops immune cells from recognizing cancer cells and mounting an attack against the cancer. Dr. Prendergast is determining how the IDO protein works in non-small cell lung cancer cells that have mutations in the KRAS gene. He is also testing new compounds that can inhibit IDO in non-small cell lung cancer.