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Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Theses/Dissertations

2018

Lung cancer

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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Enhancing Radiation Sensitivity In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Yifan Wang Aug 2018

Enhancing Radiation Sensitivity In Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Yifan Wang

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death. While radiation therapy is one of the standard treatments for lung cancer, the disease outcome after radiotherapy is still far from satisfactory despite ongoing advances in radiation techniques. Enhancing the radiosensitivity of lung cancer has the potential to improve the disease outcome of radiation treatments. Using a novel high throughput radiation sensitizing screen, previous work in the lab has identified several potent radiation sensitizers. The focus of my dissertation is on two of the identified pathways, HSP90 and MEK, using the potent and clinically relevant inhibitors ganetespib and trametinib. Using both …


Investigating The Roles Of Tap63 And Tap73 In Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma And Lung Adenocarcinoma, Andrew J. Davis Aug 2018

Investigating The Roles Of Tap63 And Tap73 In Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma And Lung Adenocarcinoma, Andrew J. Davis

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

TP63 and TP73 (which encode p63 and p73, respectively) are highly conserved transcription factors with important roles in development and tissue homeostasis. Similar to their homolog, p53, both p63 and p73 have been shown to mediate tumor suppression in multiple tissue types. Interestingly, however, both genes are expressed as multiple isoforms, which appear to have different and, in many cases, antagonistic functions. Through the use of isoform-specific null alleles of p63 and p73 our lab and others have shown that the full-length N-terminal isoforms of p63 and p73 (referred to as TAp63 and TAp73, respectively) exhibit distinct functions in development, …


Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition As A Predictor Of Response To Polo-Like Kinase 1 Inhibition-Induced Apoptosis In Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma, Pavitra Viswanath May 2018

Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition As A Predictor Of Response To Polo-Like Kinase 1 Inhibition-Induced Apoptosis In Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma, Pavitra Viswanath

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Outcomes are poor for patients with recurrent, advanced or metastatic NSCLC. Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), involved in the regulation of mitotic processes and the response to DNA damage, is overexpressed in NSCLC. Inhibiting PLK1 may be an effective treatment for NSCLC patients as it is involved in the mechanisms of resistance to several chemotherapy drugs. PLK1 inhibition or knock-down has various effects in cancer cells, including mitotic arrest, apoptosis, and senescence. Predictive biomarkers have not been identified to select those patients who are likely to respond to …