Previously Funded Research

Timothy Burns, MD, PhD

University of Pittsburgh

Research Project:

Targeting glycolysis in MET altered lung cancer brain metastases

Summary:

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has the highest incidence of brain metastases (BM) with almost 40% of lung cancer patients developing BM during the course of their disease. As there are no targeted therapies for the treatment of LUAD-BM, the development of novel treatments to effectively prevent and treat LUAD-BM is urgently needed to improve patient survival. Our preliminary studies suggest that alterations in the MET gene are selected for in metastatic lesions to the brain, and that the MET pathway may be a therapeutic target for LUAD-BM. In this project, we will define the metabolic vulnerabilities of MET altered NSCLC BM and provide the preclinical rationale to test whether metabolic inhibitors could be effective in a significant subset of LUAD BM patients (~20%) in the clinic.