Timeframe: 2016 – 2023 Goal: Develop and fund a series of three-year FLC research fellowships Overview: FCF has partnered with the prestigious Cancer Research Institute (CRI) to specifically focus on the role immunotherapy may have in creating curative therapies for fibrolamellar. CRI has been promoting immunotherapy research for 65 years, long before the establishment cancer …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2017 Goal: Develop new therapeutics for FLC Principal Investigator: Sandy Simon, PhD Investigator Collaboration: Barbara Lyons, PhD (New Mexico State University) Study overview: The goal of this work was to develop therapeutics for FLC. The team identified three independent strategies based on their laboratory’s work showing that a single common DNA alteration …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Understand growth mechanisms and identify potential therapeutic targets Principal Investigators: John Gordan, MD, PhD (UCSF) and Nabeel Bardeesy, PhD (Mass General Hospital) Study overview: The discovery of a genetic change in the protein kinase A (PKA) gene in nearly all cases of fibrolamellar liver cancer (FLC) creates hope that targeted …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2018 Goal: Investigate DNAJB1-PRKACA fusion kinase function in new fibrolamellar carcinoma models Principal Investigator: Dr. Yi Guo, PhD Study overview: The DNAJB1-PRKACA fusion kinase is found in nearly 100% of FLC cases. While this novel fusion had previously been shown to promote tumors in mice, defining the mechanistic function of DNAJB1-PRKACA and …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Study the interactions between the immune system and FLC in a mouse model Principal Investigator: Kevin Barry, PhD Study overview: Cancer immunotherapies harness the power of the immune system to kill tumors. Checkpoint blockade immunotherapies are an exciting class of cancer immunotherapies that remove the brakes from the immune system …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Define the dominant immune checkpoint pathway in FLC Principal investigator: Amy K. Kim, MD Study overview: Tumor cells produce immune checkpoint molecules that suppress host immune response and allow evasion from immune responses. The discovery of drugs that block these immune checkpoints have revolutionized current cancer treatment. Anti-PD1 (programmed cell …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Characterize T-cells in the FLC tumor microenvironment Principal Investigator: Kevin M. Sullivan, MD Study Overview: Immunotherapy is a form of cancer treatment that harnesses the patient’s own immune system to fight the disease. The immune system can precisely target cancer cells, while also minimizing damage to the remainder of the …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Develop a pre-clinical mouse model for fibrolamellar carcinoma Principal Investigator: Dr. Julien Sage, PhD Study overview: There are few effective therapies for FLC patients and development of improved therapeutics are hampered by the rarity of the disease and the challenge of including pediatric patients in many clinical trials. One solution …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Use zebrafish as a model system for fibrolamellar carcinoma to study the immune system Principal Investigator: Sofia de Oliveira, PhD Study overview: Few FLC animal models currently exist limiting our ability to study FLC in the context of a complete organism. While cell-based models are extremely useful, animal models allow …