Recent Successes

Eileen Dolan, PhD, and her lab studied more than 9,000 genes and found that genetic differences between races can influence how people of European and African descent fight off infection or react to drugs. Expression levels of five percent of the genes analyzed varied significantly between ethnic groups. The study found that much of this disparity was among genes involved in fundamental cellular processes, which is significant, in part, because many cancer drugs target these processes.

Geoffrey L. Greene, PhD, a cancer biologist, and Xiao-Min Lin, who has a PhD in physics and an MS inorganic chemistry, are the primary investigators of a study that integrates the biological and physical sciences and takes advantage of the collaboration between the U of C and the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). They are exploring the use of nanoparticles to carry therapeutic materials directly to the surface or nuclei of target cells. Nanoparticles could potentially transport anti-cancer drugs to cancer cells or deliver substances that would allow radiologists and radiation oncologists to visualize and target tumor cells with extraordinary precision.

Ralph Weichselbaum, MD, and his team recently discovered that targeted radiation therapy can eradicate all evidence of disease in selected patients with limited cancer spread (metastases). This treatment could extend the life of patients who have no other options for months or years.

Mark J. Ratain, MD, has set the standard for studying and understanding human variability in responses to drugs. He chairs the Pharmacogenomics of Anticancer Agents Research Group (PAAR) study. This $14-million, four-year study is investigating how genetic differences can influence an individual's response to cancer therapy. The team begins with human tissue samples to evaluate the diverse ways our bodies absorb, distribute, break down and eliminate medications.

The study team of Greg Karczmar, PhD, Gillian Newstead, MD, ChB; Suzanne Conzen, MD; and Thomas Krausz, MD, FRCPath, have developed a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure that enables researchers to detect very early breast cancers in mice. This discovery has placed UCCRC investigators in a unique position to study the early events and markers in cancer development, which will increase our ability to treat potential cancers very early during their development.

Kevin White, PhD, and his colleagues have found a genetic marker that can help physicians predict which cancers are more likely to spread and put patients at greater risk for death. The team used a sophisticated systems biology approach, which integrates biology, mathematics, engineering and the physical sciences to reveal the connections between an organism’s multiple levels of biological organization.

Thomas F. Gajewski, MD, PhD, and his team are exploring ways to control, manipulate and enhance immune responses against cancer. Their findings will enable them to develop vaccines and other immune therapies. The team already has shown tumor shrinkage in patients with a vaccine against melanoma, and are also investigating new vaccines in patients with pancreatic and kidney cancers. This work relies on the collaboration of basic immunology researchers, medical oncologists, surgeons, and pathologists.

Andy Minn, MD, PhD, and his colleagues have advanced the potential for personalized medicine. Their analysis of 49 genes, 34 different cancer cell lines and several hundred primary human cancers represent significant progress in the search for a genetic signature that could predict how individual cancers will respond to specific treatments. This work will potentially enable physicians to match the most effective, least harmful treatments with individual patients.

Michelle M. Le Beau, PhD, identifies recurring chromosomal abnormalities in patients with cancer and correlates them with physical and clinical aspects of their diseases. She uses this information to determine the most appropriate drugs for treating particular tumors and to better assess the unique hazards faced by individual patients. Dr. Le Beau's current research emphasis is therapy-related leukemia, which is an unfortunate side effect of cancer treatments in some patients. By delineating the etiology (or molecular basis) of the disease, she hopes to develop procedures to identify patients at greater risks for developing the disease and to minimize its hazards.