Cleveland Clinic researchers have published findings in Nature Communications [ Thiagarajan, Nat Commun, 2018] on a new stem cell pathway that allows a highly aggressive form of breast cancer - triple-negative breast cancer - to thrive.

Hormone therapy for breast cancer blocks cancer cells from interacting with hormones such as estrogen and progesterone, which fuel the cancer cells to grow and spread. However, triple-negative breast cancer cells lack the receptors needed to bind to these hormones and growth factors. Without such receptors, typical therapy does not work, contributing to poor survival rates for women with this subtype of breast cancer.

Cleveland Clinic  Lerner Research Institute researchers believe that an aggressive population of cancer cells, called cancer stem cells, is at the heart of why many cancers, including triple-negative breast cancer, are challenging to treat. Cancer stem cells self-replicate, rapidly grow and spread, and change their phenotype in response to the tumor environment.

 

The new study, led by Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Members  Justin Lathia, PhD, and Ofer Reizes, PhD, identifies a never-before described survival pathway in cancer stem cells that may serve as a potential target for new triple-negative breast cancer therapies.   more>

University Hospitals recently announced the recruitment of one of the nation's leading scientists, Quintin Pan, PhD.

Pan joins University Hospitals as deputy director for research at UH Seidman Cancer Center and professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

He will focus on translational cancer research ranging from novel target identification and drug discovery, to pre-clinical validation and human clinical trials. In particular, his laboratory has elucidated key insights regarding genetic determinants of cancer that provide the foundation for novel therapies to treat aggressive head and neck cancers.

"UH Seidman Cancer Center is so fortunate to have recruited a scientist of Dr. Pan's caliber into our cancer program," said Ted Teknos, MD, Deputy Director for the Seidman Cancer Center, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and President and Scientific Director, UH Seidman Cancer Center. "His passion for discovery, collaborative spirit and scientific creativity are unparalleled. I look forward to working closely with him and our Case Comprehensive Cancer Center colleagues to set the standard for team science and discovery." more>

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Join us Friday, February 16 at noon in Wolstein Research Building Room 1-413 for the weekly Cancer Center Seminar Series to hear Byron Lee, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University Joint Staff, Department of Urology, Glickman Urologic & Kidney Institute and Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, discuss " Chromatin modifier gene mutations in urothelial carcinoma." 

DEADLINE: February 26, 2018

The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center is providing collaborative support for projects that focus on the use of RNAi-based screens to identify novel mechanisms underlying cancer biology. RNA-targeted screens have proven to be an effective approach for identifying new pathways involved in cancer initiation, progression, and therapeutic resistance. To facilitate the adoption of such methodologies by its members, the Case CCC will support new projects to be conducted in collaboration with the Small Molecule Drug Development Shared Resource. The Case CCC will supply the requested targeted RNAi library through the screening core and assume screening core costs. Awardees will be expected to commit substantial effort of a lab member to facilitate development of an assay, validate hits, and generate mechanistic data (supported by funds from the Case CCC member). Proposals should be focused on innovative questions, identify a proposed targeted and arrayed RNAi library (full-genome libraries are not responsive to the RFA), describe a feasible high-throughput assay, and have a clear plan for validation of hits. A plan for future analyses of identified candidate genes is also expected, but not specifically supported by this RFA.

Grant applications will be accepted from multi-institutional teams, composed of principal investigators from at least two, but no more than three, different institutions. The recipients will formally accept the grants at the AACR Annual Meeting 2018, to be held April 14-18 in Chicago.

Screenings have long been a routine part of prevention for many types of cancer. But evidence is showing that across-the-board testing might not be beneficial.

"It's a balance of benefits and harms," says Cleveland Clinic pulmonologist Peter Mazzone, MD, who co-authored new lung cancer screening guidelines with the American College of Chest Physicians for low-dose chest CT scans. The new recommendation saves screening for those most at risk...Tracking your family health history can help you develop a more effective cancer prevention plan. "We always suggest talking about your history when your family gathers," says Charis Eng, MD, chair of Cleveland Clinic's Genomic Medicine Institute and director of the Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare. "You can write it down or draw a picture of the family tree, and if a relative isn't sure about a particular relative, you can follow up."