The Society of Cancer Management
  • Home
    • An After Life
    • News Archive
  • About
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright Notice
  • Contact

. . . supporting research that improves cancer survival.

 
Please contact us if you would like to contribute a news item. We are keen to publish more articles from UK-based research and findings that relate to microbial infections during therapy.

Scientists accelerate progress in preventing drug resistance in lung and pancreas cancers

5/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) report today the development of new models to study molecular characteristics of tumors of the lung and pancreas that are driven by mutations in a gene named NTRK1. 

In healthy bodies, NTRK1 has critical functions in the development of nerve cells, particularly those that send signals to the brain about pain, temperature, and touch. In some cancers, these powerful genes malfunction to send signals to cells, instructing them to grow constantly.

The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, was led by Martin McMahon, PhD, senior director of preclinical translation at HCI and professor of dermatology at the U of U, and Aria Vaishnavi, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in McMahon's lab. McMahon's team focuses on cell-cell communication, like the signaling promoted in some cancers by NTRK1.

One way to examine this experimentally is to devise a way to model human cancers in mice. This process produces a new tool, a "mouse model," which allows scientists to analyze in a laboratory setting how a cancer develops, how it behaves over time, and to test potential new drugs and treatment targets. The researchers hope the new NTRK1 mouse models reported today will accelerate progress toward finding more effective treatments for patients with NTRK1-driven lung and pancreas cancers.

A conversation with Ignacio Garrido-Laguna, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist at HCI, associate professor of internal medicine at the U of U, and director of the HCI Phase I Clinical Research Program, inspired the idea for this study. Garrido-Laguna was caring for a pancreatic cancer patient who was participating in a clinical trial at HCI (NCT02568267). The patient's tumor had a mutation in NTRK1 and then had a remarkable response to the NTRK1 inhibitor drug being evaluated. Hence, it made sense to Garrido-Laguna and McMahon that the response might be related to inhibition of the mutated NTRK1.

McMahon posited that if NTRK1 signaling was responsible, disruption of that signaling might be beneficial. "Pancreatic cancers have proven to be a particularly recalcitrant to treatments, so we wanted to thoroughly evaluate such a dramatic response as we work to identify new potential treatments for this disease," said McMahon. Moreover, since the responses to the NTRK1 inhibitors are often short-lived, McMahon and colleagues wanted to design new combination therapies that prevented the onset of lethal drug resistance.

Read More
0 Comments

    Cancer Therapy & Palliative Care News

    This feed features recent developments in cancer therapy and palliative care. Views in these articles do not necessarily represent those of the Cancer Management Society.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    General
    Presentation
    Research
    Review

    RSS Feed

Home

About

Contact Us

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Copyright Notice

RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
© The Society of Cancer Management 2017