Overview:
Researchers have discovered that there are additional layers of material outside of the DNA that regulate, or turn on and off, genes. These epigenomes, as they are known, have been the focus of a rapidly emerging, important new area of cancer research. Investigators have determined that inappropriate epigenetic activity contributes significantly to cancer causation and growth, and that unlike mutations in the DNA, these changes can be reversed. This opens the door to research that could potentially regulate this activity or return the affected genes to normal function even after they have become defective.
The overarching goal of this Dream Team Project is to bring the promise of epigenetic therapy to clinical practice; it will focus on breast, colon and lung cancers as well on leukemia.
Specific Research Goals:
- Developing biomarkers that can predict and monitor the efficacy of cancer epigenetic therapies.
- Self-renewing cancer cells, often called cancer stem cells are of great interest to researchers; they often become resistant to currently available drugs. Many scientists believe that it is essential to develop new therapies that target these cancer stem cells in order to improve the long-term outcomes of cancer treatment. The team will build on intriguing preliminary data suggesting that reversal of gene "silencing" leads to a loss of cancer stem cells.
- Develop a clinical trial that utilizes a new second generation epigenetic drug that may be able to more effectively inhibit the epigenetic changes involved in cancer causation.
Amount of Funding:
$9.12 million
Leader:
Stephen B. Baylin, M.D., deputy director, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center
Co-Leader:
Peter A. Jones, Ph.D., D.Sc., distinguished professor of urology, biochemistry and molecular biology, University of Southern California
Principals:
Steven A. Belinsky, Ph.D., director, Lung Cancer Program, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute
Nancy E. Davidson, M.D., director, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute and UPMC Cancer Centers
Jean-Pierre Issa, M.D., professor, department of leukemia, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Advocates:
Diana Chingos
Lillie Shockney
Date page last updated: June 18, 2009