2015 Lung Cancer Research Foundation Annual Grant Program
Wesley Hsu, MD
Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Research Project:
Targeting brachyury-enhanced lung cancer through inhibition of fibroblastic growth factor receptor/mitogen-activated protein kinases
Summary:
Brachyury is a protein that has an important role in healthy embryonic development and is normally “turned off” in adult cells. Brachyury is often “turned on” again in many cancers, including metastatic lung cancer. Lung cancer patients with high brachyury production often have a poor prognosis and fail to respond to conventional chemotherapy. Previously, Dr. Hsu’s laboratory has discovered new information regarding the pathways that turn on brachyury. Using this information, the team is developing innovative strategies to target the pathways that fuel brachyury production. They will test these new strategies on animal models of lung cancer, and hope that these studies will lead to the development of important clinical trials.