The research you fund through LCRF is making meaningful progress in the fight against lung cancer. We are pleased to share our 2023 grantees’ one-year updates in this series.
Trever Bivona, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
2023 LCRF Research Grant on Understanding Resistance in Lung Cancer
What he’s doing:
Dr. Bivona’s overall goal in his research is to create an entirely new approach to treat lung cancer by developing a suite of precision therapies that are distinct in their mechanism of action against the tumor ecosystem.
How it’s going:
Dr. Bivona’s team is making significant strides in understanding how lung cancer tumors resist treatment. Their research has confirmed initial treatment targets produced by cells in the tumor microenvironment.
What it could mean for patients:
By inhibiting the interaction between these targets and cancer cells, there is potential to enhance tumor sensitivity to immunotherapy—offering new hope for patients with notoriously resistant forms of lung cancer, such as EGFR+ and other oncogene-driven lung cancers. Even more promising, this work could lay the foundation for a future clinical trial, bringing us closer to more effective treatment options for patients facing limited choices today.