2013 UALC
Matthew Niederst, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Research Project:
Determining the mechanisms of intrinsic and acquired resistance to the 3rd generation EGFR inhibitor CO-1686
Summary:
Personalized, targeted therapies have been effective in patients with non-small cell lung cancers, often inducing shrinkage of the tumor and a reduction in symptoms. Unfortunately, these patients eventually develop resistance to the inhibitors and the tumors begin to grow again, typically after one year. A secondary mutation that prevents the inhibitor from blocking the activity of the protein is responsible for the resistance in over half of patients. Next generation inhibitors have recently been developed that can block these resistant forms of the protein and hold great promise in resistant patients. Dr. Neiderst’s project will focus on testing a next generation EGFR inhibitor in model cell lines derived from resistant patients in order to (1) determine which patients will benefit the most from the next generation inhibitors and (2) to develop novel therapies for patients who may not respond to these new drugs.