2014 UALC
Zofia Piotrowska, MD, MHS
Massachusetts General Hospital
Research Project:
Allelic burden of T790M as a biomarker of response to 3rd-generation EGFR inhibitors
Summary:
The discovery of EGFR mutations among a subset of lung cancers has allowed for the development of EGFR-targeted therapies, which can be very effective for patients whose tumors harbor these mutations. Recently, a new generation of EGFR inhibitors has been developed to treat cancers which became resistant to their initial targeted therapy. These new “third-generation” EGFR inhibitors target the T790M acquired resistance mutation and have shown great promise in the clinic for patients whose tumors harbor this mutation. Dr. Piotrowska’s project will focus on studying how the amount of T790M present within a tumor and within a patient’s bloodstream can be used to predict how cancers will respond to treatment and to track this response over time through serial blood tests. Ultimately, this research may lead to the development of new clinical tests and treatment strategies to improve the care of patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer.