Dr. Nilay Sethi’s Team Reports Major Progress in Research Funded by Seed Grant

In 2022, the Gastric Cancer Foundation awarded a seed grant to Dr. Nilay Sethi to explore an innovative therapeutic approach for gastric cancer. One year into the grant, his research has shown promising results.

Dr. Sethi is a specialist in medical oncology and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, as well as a physician at Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, where he focuses on gastrointestinal cancer.

In the past year, Dr. Sethi has made great strides towards positively identifying patients who may be uniquely suited for a novel therapy. His research has focused on patients who could be receptive to a drug that has been approved for treatment of other cancers.

Specifically, Dr. Sethi’s research centers on identifying gastric cancer patients who could benefit from a treatment that inhibits an enzyme that cancer cells use to repair themselves.

By blocking this enzyme, called PARP, the treatment can lead to the death of cancer cells. PARP inhibitor drugs have been previously FDA-approved for treatment of ovarian and breast cancers, and recent research has demonstrated that they show potential in gastric cancer.

Dr. Sethi believes that patients who are deficient in another biomarker called homologous recombination (HR) may be especially receptive to PARP inhibition. Research suggests that nearly a quarter of gastric cancer patients may be functionally HR deficient, so if effective, PARP inhibitor treatments could be used for this substantial subset of patients. Dr. Sethi’s team has focused on successfully developing a diagnostic tool that can accurately identify patients with genuine HR repair deficiencies – a hallmark of the project so far.

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After gastric surgery, patients can often experience significant changes in their ability to tolerate alcohol. Hans talks with registered dietitian, Dr. Ellen Steinberg about smart ways to approach alcohol for those who still want to enjoy the occasional drink. And for the sober-curious, Hans and Ellen also discuss the many opportunities out there to explore the growing list of delicious mocktail recipes!

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Research Roundup

Incredible progress continues to be made in the advancement of targeting gastric cancer treatment. Here are some highlights:

Research from the Salama Lab in the Human Biology Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center reveals a unique cell lineage associated with inflammation and early stages of gastric cancer, offering potential targets for personalized treatments.

Korea University and MD Anderson Cancer Center introduce a novel genetic classification for gastric cance r, opening avenues for personalized treatments with six Consensus Genomic Subtypes.

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