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Full-Text Articles in Oncology
Thrombospondin-1 Signaling Mechanisms Regulating Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor Expression And Lipolytic Activity In Prostate Cancer, Nizar Khamjan
Thrombospondin-1 Signaling Mechanisms Regulating Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor Expression And Lipolytic Activity In Prostate Cancer, Nizar Khamjan
Theses and Dissertations
Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer that occurs in men in the United States. To grow, tumors need to induce new blood vessels growth, a process called angiogenesis. Thus, tumors down regulate molecules that inhibit this process. Two such molecules that are down-regulated in PCa are thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF). Interestingly, both of these proteins also function in regulating lipid metabolism. Our lab has data to suggest that TSP-1 induces PEDF expression and lipid catabolism (lipolysis), the hydrolysis of triglycerides into fatty acids and a glycerol, in PCa cells; however, the molecular pathway of …
Novel Therapeutic Strategies For Pancreatic Cancer, Bridget A. Quinn
Novel Therapeutic Strategies For Pancreatic Cancer, Bridget A. Quinn
Theses and Dissertations
Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease that leaves patients with a very poor prognosis and few therapeutic options. Many of the treatment options available are the same that have been used for almost 2 decades. There is a dire need for both novel treatments for this disease as well as novel strategies of treatment. This body of work will introduce and provide evidence in support of a novel combination therapy for pancreatic cancer treatment, a novel strategy of modifying currently used chemotherapeutics for pancreatic cancer therapy, and a novel transgenic preclinical mouse model of pancreatic cancer. Sabutoclax, an antagonist of …
Mda-9/Syntenin: From Glioblastoma Pathogenesis To Targeted Therapy, Timothy P. Kegelman
Mda-9/Syntenin: From Glioblastoma Pathogenesis To Targeted Therapy, Timothy P. Kegelman
Theses and Dissertations
The most common malignant glioma, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), remains an intractable tumor despite advances in therapy. Its proclivity to infiltrate surrounding brain tissue contributes greatly to its treatment failure and the grim prognosis of patients. Radiation is a staple in modern therapeutic regimens, though cells surviving radiation become more aggressive and invasive. Consequently, it is imperative to define further the cellular mechanisms that control GBM invasion and identify promising novel therapeutic targets. Melanoma differentiation associated gene-9 (MDA-9/Syntenin) is a highly conserved PDZ domain-containing scaffolding protein that promotes invasion and metastasis in human melanoma models. We show that MDA-9/Syntenin is robustly …
Analysis Of The Role Of Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 In Normal Liver Physiology And In The Onset And Progression Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Chadia L. Robertson
Analysis Of The Role Of Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 In Normal Liver Physiology And In The Onset And Progression Of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Chadia L. Robertson
Theses and Dissertations
First identified over a decade ago, Astrocyte Elevated Gene-1 (AEG-1) has been studied extensively due to early reports of its overexpression in various cancer cell lines. Research groups all over the globe including our own have since identified AEG-1 overexpression in cancers of diverse lineages including cancers of the liver, colon, skin, prostate, breast, lung, esophagus, neurons and neuronal glia as compared to matched normal tissue. A comprehensive and convincing body of data currently points to AEG-1 as an essential component, critical to the progression and perhaps onset of cancer. AEG-1 is a potent activator of multiple pro-tumorigenic signal transduction …
Adaptive Radiation Therapy For Lung Cancer, Christian W. Dial
Adaptive Radiation Therapy For Lung Cancer, Christian W. Dial
Theses and Dissertations
Prognosis for lung cancer patients remains poor. For those receiving radiation therapy, local control and survival have been shown to improve with increased doses; however, deliverable dose is often limited by associated toxicity. Therefore, methods that reduce dose to normal tissues and allow isotoxic escalation are desirable. Adaptive radiation therapy seeks to improve treatment by modifying the initial plan throughout delivery, and has been shown to decrease normal tissue dose. Studies to date suggest a trend of increasing benefit with increases in replanning frequency; however, replanning is costly in terms of workload and past studies implement at most weekly adaptation. …