2014 UALC
Andrea Ventura, MD, PhD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Research Project:
In vivo characterization of sensitivity and resistance to Alk inhibitors using a new pre-clinical model of Eml4-Alk-driven lung cancer
Summary:
Approximately 5% of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) are characterized by the presence of a chromosomal inversion resulting in the expression of a EML4-ALK gene fusion. These tumors are clinically relevant because they often show a dramatic response to targeted therapy using ALK-inhibitors. Unfortunately, the vast majority of patients eventually relapse due to the emergence of drug resistance. Dr. Ventura’s lab has recently shown that somatic genome editing with CRISPR-Cas9 can be used to engineer the Eml4-Alk rearrangement in the lungs of adult mice. Using this novel preclinical model of NSCLC, his group is now exploring the molecular mechanisms through which the Eml4-Alk-driven lung cancers acquire resistance to targeted therapy.