Alvaro Quintanal-Villalonga, PhD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Research Project:
Identifying Therapeutic Targets for Neuroendocrine Transformation
Grant Awarded:
- Lung Cancer Discovery Award
Research Topics:
- basic biologic mechanisms
- biomarkers
- clinical research
- combination therapies experimental therapeutics
- computational biology
- gene expression transcription
- pathology
- risk factors
Research Disease:
- lung cancer
Targeted lung cancer therapies offer improved effectiveness, side effects and survival for patients. However, most lung tumors eventually become resistant to these drugs. Some tumors (small cell lung adenocarcinoma) even transform to a different, more aggressive type (small cell lung carcinoma) that is insensitive to targeted drugs, leading to poor outcomes for patients. Our knowledge of cancer transformation is limited; to date, no therapies are available to prevent or effectively treat this transformation. We aim to use cutting-edge technologies to study tumor samples at the level of individual cells to determine what causes this transformation. We will focus on neuroendocrine transformation in lung cancer, a process where non-small cell lung cancer cells transform into neuroendocrine cells. In the lab, we will then test drugs that target this process to identify a therapy able to safely prevent tumor transformation. Our goal is to lay the groundwork for clinical trials and eventual FDA-approval for use in patients to improve survival outcomes for people with these types of lung cancers.
Update:
We have identified two therapeutic targets to limit adaptability to therapy and prevent neuroendocrine transformation, which enhance the effectiveness of targeted therapies in lung and prostate cancers, making them sensitive to the drug for a dramatically higher amount of time. The evidence gathered supports starting clinical trials in patients with tumors at high risk of transformation. One drug we are testing is also approved for use in patients with other tumor types, and the other is currently in Phase II trials with solid tumors. This means our results could be quickly translated into improved patient outcomes.
Page last updated: September 17, 2024
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