2020

A phase I/II study of nivolumab plus 5-fluorouracil plus interferon-α2b for unresectable fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma

Timeframe: 2020 – 2023 Goals: Assess the potential of the combination of nivolumab, fluorouracil, and interferon alpha-2b as a treatment option for unresectable disease Principal Investigators: Sunyoung Lee, MD and Ahmed Kaseb, MD Study overview: This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and how well the combination of nivolumab, fluorouracil, and interferon alpha-2b work …

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Creating a fibrolamellar cancer dependency map

Timeframe: 2020 – 2023 Goal: Create a comprehensive list of potential drug targets for FLC Principal Investigator: Jesse Boehm, PhD Study overview: This project is part of the Broad Institute’s Rare Cancer Dependency Map Initiative. The project has three main goals to identify potential FLC therapeutics: If fully successful, this effort will nominate high priority …

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Identifying therapeutic vulnerabilities in fibrolamellar carcinoma

Timeframe: 2020 – 2024 Goal: Investigate the impact on FLC growth and survival of inhibiting two specific oncogenes identified in previous works Principal Investigator: Praveen Sethupathy, PhD Study overview: Based on previous epigenomic, metabolomic, and microRNA profiling, as well as initial drug studies, the study team has developed two new exciting hypotheses about therapeutic vulnerabilities …

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Cancer Research Institute (CRI) fellowship program – renewal

Timeframe: 2020 – 2024 Goal: Develop and fund a series of three-year FLC research fellowships Overview: This grant extended FCF’s successful partnership with the prestigious Cancer Research Institute (CRI) to identify and staff three-year research fellowships for young researchers focusing on immunotherapy-related research for fibrolamellar. CRI has been promoting immunotherapy research for 65 years, long …

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DNAJB1-PKAc-β-catenin-ALCD-dependent activation of cancer genes plays an essential role in fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma

Timeframe: 2020 – 2021 Goals: Document mechanisms driving FLC and test if treatment with inhibitors of β-catenin may be a potential therapeutic approach for FLC Principal Investigator:  Nikolai Timchenko, PhD Study overview: In the course of studies of pediatric liver cancer, the team at CCHMC has identified chromosomal regions (Aggressive Liver Cancer Domains, ALCDs) in …

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Fibrolamellar carcinoma model development and analysis

Timeframe: 2020 – 2022 Goal: Model development Principal Investigator: Nabeel Bardeesy, PhD Study overview: While multiple FLC models have recently been developed, additional model development remains a priority for the FLC community. This effort aimed to develop multiple different FLC models as resources for the FLC research fibrolamellar cancer research community, collaborating with the Fibrolamellar …

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Modulating stromal-immune cell interactions to activate anti-tumor immunity to fibrolamellar carcinoma

Timeframe: 2020 Goal: Assess whether suppressing checkpoints or signaling by a specific chemokine (CXCL12) can enhance immune response in FLC Principal Investigator: Venu Pillarisetty, MD Study overview: Immunotherapy, harnessing the patient’s immune system to precisely target cancer cells, has emerged as a promising approach to treat many cancers. It has been discovered that fibrolamellar carcinoma …

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