Timeframe: 2010 – 2011 Goal: Understand the developmental biology of fibrolamellar carcinomaPrincipal Investigator: Lola Reid, PhD Study overview: Based on extensive work that Dr. Lola Reid’s Laboratory had already performed on normal liver cells and other forms of liver cancer, the goal of the effort was to attempt to define the development biology stage and …
Timeframe: 2012 – 2013 Goal: Support series of projects exploring the role of antibody involvement in FLC tumors Principal Investigator: Sandy Simon, PhD Study overview: This effort continued the encouraging early work begun on mice to see if researchers could take advantage of the immune system to identify potential ways to detect and eventually treat …
Timeframe: 2010 – 2011 Goal: Build understanding of the immunology and cell biology of FLC using mouse models of cancer Principal Investigator: Sandy Simon, PhD Study background: This early study was designed to determine if researchers could take advantage of the immune system to identify potential ways to detect and eventually treat fibrolamellar. The immune …
Timeframe: 2014 – 2015 Goal: Support series of high priority FLC investigations Principal Investigator: Sandy Simon, PhD Study background: In previous work (including the initiatives funded in 2010 and 2011), the study team identified an increase of a patient’s antibodies, in particular the antibody known as IgG (immunoglobin G), in fibrolamellar, sarcomas, and a number …
Timeframe: 2013 – 2014 Goal: Support costs related to establishment of new FLC biospecimen storage facility Principal Investigator: Sandy Simon, PhD Study background: Access to tumor tissue is critical to help cancer researchers understand what drives a disease and how the cancer responds to treatments. Because fibrolamellar is so rare, there has long been a …
Timeframe: 2013 – 2016 Goal: Conduct genomic-based analysis of FLC patients Principal Investigator: Ron DeMatteo, MD Study background and overview: At the time of this effort, little was known about the exact mutations driving fibrolamellar carcinoma. Published research on the genomic alterations in FLC was scarce and limited to small studies, with the largest comprised …
Timeframe: 2019 – 2022 Goals: Investigate the potential of AURKA inhibitors for FLC treatment Principal Investigators: John Gordan, MD, PhD (UCSF) and Nabeel Bardeesy, PhD (MGH) Study overview: Even though the DNAJB1-PRKACA gene fusion is sufficient to trigger fibrolamellar liver cancer (FLC), no treatments directed at this target are clinically available. Most FLC patients receive …
Timeframe: 2017 – 2019 Goal: Understand growth mechanisms and identify potential therapeutic targets Principal Investigator: Raymond Yeung, MD, Professor of Surgery Study overview: Fibrolamellar cancer (FLC) is one of the most lethal form of liver cancer in adolescents and young adults. Currently, there is no effective therapy for these patients besides surgery. Armed with a …
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 …