Disease Focus: Solid Tumors
Trop2 dependent and independent mechanisms of self-renewal in human cancer stem cells
Progress from our group and others has led to the identification of normal prostate tissue stem cells and the definition of important signaling pathways that regulate their growth and maintenance. Human cancers utilize these same pathways to promote malignancy and drive tumor progression. Our recent studies have uncovered an important regulatory molecule (Trop2) that is […]
Genetic Re-programming of Stem Cells to Fight Cancer
Science has made great progress in the treatment of certain cancers with targeted and combination therapies, yet prolonged remissions or cures are rare because most cancer therapies only inhibit cell growth and/or reduce such growth but do not stop the cancer. The study investigators propose to develop an Investigational New Drug (IND) and fully enroll […]
Targeting glioma cancer stem cells with receptor-engineered self-renewing memory T cells
While current treatment strategies for high-grade glioma can yield short term benefits, their inability to eradicate the highly tumorigenic cancer stem cell population results in disease recurrence in the vast majority of patients. Stem cells and some cancer cells (the targets of our therapy) share many common characteristics, including the ability to self-renew and grow […]
Recombinant Bispecific Antibody Targeting Cancer Stem Cells for the Therapy of Glioblastoma
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most prevalent and aggressive type of brain tumor, and devastating to any patient unfortunate enough to receive its diagnosis. As the most populous state in the nation, more Californians are diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme than any other state. Over the past 20 years, surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have been utilized […]
Genetic Re-programming of Stem Cells to Fight Cancer
Science has made great progress in the treatment of certain cancers with targeted and combination therapies, yet prolonged remissions or cures are rare because most cancer therapies only inhibit cell growth and/or reduce such growth but do not stop the cancer. The study investigators propose to develop an Investigational New Drug (IND) and fully accrue […]
Stem cell-based carriers for RCR vector delivery to glioblastoma
Modified viruses can be used to infect tumor cells and alter the tumor cell to make anti-tumor proteins. Most researchers use virus that can infect and modify the tumor cell it enters, but can not make more of itself to infect additional cells surrounding the original infected cell. This type of virus is called replication-incompetent […]
The role of neural stem cells in cerebellar development, regeneration and tumorigenesis
Stem cells have the remarkable ability to renew themselves and to generate multiple different cell types. This allows them to generate normal tissues during development and to repair tissues following injury, but at the same time, renders them highly susceptible to mutations that can result in cancer. Only by understanding the signals that control growth […]
Epigenetics in cancer stem cell initiation and clinical outcome prediction
Cancer is responsible for approximately 25% of all deaths in the US and other developed countries. For women, breast and lung cancers and for men, cancers of prostate and lung are the most prevalent and the most common cause of deaths from cancer. While a large number of treatment modalities such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation […]
Stem Cells for Immune System Regeneration to Fight Cancer
This proposal will define the biology of stem cell engineering to produce a cancer-fighting immune system. The immune system protects our body against most outside threats. However, it frequently fails to protect us from cancer. The T cell receptor (or TCR), a complex protein on the surface of an immune cell (or lymphocyte), allows to […]
Stem Cells in Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the most deadly cancer worldwide and accounts for more deaths than prostate cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer combined. Non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 85% of all lung cancers. The current 5-year survival rate for all stages of NSCLC is only 15%. Although early stage lung cancer has […]