$18.5 million in funding from the Cancer Moonshot will help researchers at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center close the gap in our understanding of colorectal cancer in Hispanic patients
“I’m thrilled to be part of the USC Norris Moonshot team,” said Caryn Lerman, PhD, director of the USC Norris cancer center, H. Leslie Hoffman and Elaine S. Hoffman Chair in Cancer Research and associate dean for cancer programs. “This research will have a transformative impact in our diverse catchment area and beyond.”
Additional members of the USC COPECC research team include Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, PhD, professor of population and public health sciences, associate dean for community initiatives and associate director for community outreach and engagement; Julie Culver, MS, instructor of clinical medicine and genetic counselor; Charite Ricker, MS, instructor of clinical medicine and genetic counselor; Bodour Salhia, PhD, associate professor of translational genomics and co-leader of the genomic and epigenomic program at USC Norris cancer center; Juan Pablo Lewinger, PhD. assistant professor of population and public health sciences; Jim Gauderman, PhD, professor of population and public health sciences and Chair of Biostatistics Division; Sue Ellen Martin, MD, associate professor of pathology, associate chief of anatomic pathology at Keck Medical Center of USC and USC Norris Cancer Center Hospital and associate director of AP quality and operations at LAC+USC Medical Center
The trial is currently recruiting breast cancer patients whose cancer has metastasized (spread to other areas of the body) and whose tumors show increased levels of a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Participants must also have experienced resistance or disease progression while on treatment plans containing T-DM1, and/or T-DXd, and/or tucatinib, which are typically prescribed for HER2-positive breast cancer patients.
About 20% of breast cancers are HER2 positive. The HER2 protein promotes cancer cell growth, which can make HER2-positive breast cancer more aggressive and difficult to treat, despite the availability of therapeutic options specific to this type of cancer.
Chemotherapy may be used in combination with targeted therapies, but can cause difficult side effects because the drug is administered throughout the body rather than just to the areas affected by cancer.
“At USC Norris, we treat a large volume of patients with HER2-positive, metastatic breast cancer and we’ve found that resistance to existing therapies is a major issue,” said Janice Lu, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist with Keck Medicine, medical director of the USC comprehensive breast oncology program and global lead principal investigator of the trial. “We are excited to lead this effort in assessing a possible alternative solution for breast cancer patients, and hope to expand our ability to provide effective personalized care.”
Michael Press, MD, PhD, a pathologist with Keck Medicine, member of USC Norris and the director of the Breast Cancer Analysis Lab at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, will lead the study’s pathological evaluation.
ARX788 is an antibody drug conjugate, which is a type of therapy that combines a monoclonal antibody with a potent dose of medication, allowing for precise, targeted drug delivery that could potentially lessen side effects. ARX788 is designed with an anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody that identifies HER2-positive tumor cells to deliver a powerful dose of Amberstatin269, which destroys cancer cells and prevents new cells from forming.
Results from two phase 1 clinical trials demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity in patients who had previously received aggressive treatment plans, showing an overall response rate of 74% and a disease control rate of up to 100%, depending on dosing. ARX788 was well-tolerated, with most adverse events being mild or moderate.
“If this drug is effective, it could provide a hopeful alternative to patients with a difficult prognosis and help them maintain a quality of life in ways that chemotherapy cannot,” said Lu, who is also a member of USC Norris.
The trial is currently recruiting participants at more than 20 sites across the United States and Australia, with plans to open 150 sites worldwide, including Europe and Asia.
Those interested in enrolling at the USC Norris site can contact (323) 865-BRST (323-865-2778). To learn more about USC Norris breast cancer research, treatment and prevention please visit the USC Breast Center.
The trial is sponsored by Ambrx, which manufactures ARX788. Those wishing to learn more about the trial can email breast03trialinquiry@ambrx.com.
Data Reveals Promising New First-Line Treatment for Newly Diagnosed Colon Cancer
October 20, 2021
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide with a poor 5-year survival rate in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with first-line standard-of-care chemotherapy have shown to have poor outcomes.
Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, associate director for clinical research at USC Norris
Now, results from a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reveal that a combination of Nivolumab plus low-dose ipilimumab, two immune therapeutic agents approved in refractory microsatellite high cancers, were used for the first time in newly diagnosed MSI H metastatic colorectal cancer and demonstrated robust and durable clinical benefit and was very well tolerated as a first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer.
“The data suggests that Nivolumab plus low dose ipilimumab combination has very promising activity in newly diagnosed colon cancer which are characterized with microsatellite instability,” says study author Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz, associate director for clinical research at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (USC Norris). “As a result of this study, this regimen is being included into the NCCN guidelines as a new treatment option for colon cancer.”
Patients were enrolled in this phase II clinical trial between December 2016 through October 2017. At data cutoff, which occurred in October 2019, 45 patients with microsatellite instability-high/mismatch repair-deficient metastatic colorectal cancer who had not received prior therapy for metastatic disease were treated. Among 43 response-evaluable patients, 84% had a reduction in tumor burden and 13% had complete remission of their disease. Most of these patients experienced a deepening of response with a longer follow-up of 29 months. While off treatment, further tumor shrinkage was observed in some patients.
Ryan D’Cunha (left) and Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz
Ryan D’Cunha, a colon cancer survivor and trial participant, was one of the trial participants that had complete resolution of his cancer when it was removed with curative surgery. After receiving a diagnosis of stage four colon cancer, Ryan’s pathology results came back indicating that his cancer was MSI-High, qualifying him for enrollment into the trial with immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy for newly diagnosed metastatic colon cancer. Following 6 months of treatment, the tumor was shrinking allowing Ryan to undergo surgery to remove his cancer in the colon and liver. He did tolerate the immunotherapy very well which has much fewer side effects than chemotherapy. At his post-operative appointment, Dr. Lenz informed Ryan that all tumors had disappeared in the colon and liver demonstrating a complete response to the treatment. He has now been cancer free for four years.
“Cancer has exposed us to the harsh realities of battling a life-threatening illness,” said Ryan D’Cunha. “We are truly blessed to be in the hands of one of the best medical teams in the world. We are also very grateful for the medical advances made possible by dedicated cancer researchers around the world giving us HOPE for the future, instead of fear.”
This combination represents a novel first-line treatment option for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
About this study:
In addition to Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz, other authors include Eric Van Cutsem MD, PhD, University Hospitals Gasthuisberg/Leuven and KU Leuven; Maria Luisa Limon MD, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio; Ka Yeung Mark Wong PhD, Westmead Hospital; Alain Hendlisz MD, PhD, Institut Jules Bordet; Massimo Aglietta MD, PhD, University of Torino and Candiolo Cancer Center; Pilar García-Alfonso MD, Hospital Gral Universitario Gregorio Marañon; Bart Neyns MD, PhD, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel; Gabriele Luppi MD, University Hospital of Modena; Dana B. Cardin MD, Ingram Cancer Center; Tomislav Dragovich MD, PhD, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center; Usman Shah MD, Lehigh Valley Cancer Institute; Sandzhar Abdullaev MD, PhD, Bristol Myers Squibb; Joseph Gricar MS, Bristol Myers Squibb; Jean-Marie Ledeine MS, Bristol Myers Squibb; Michael James Overman MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; and Sara Lonardi MD, Istituto Oncologico Veneto IOV-IRCSS.
About USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
At the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, more than 250 dedicated physicians and scientists are leading the fight to make cancer a disease of the past. As one of the eight original National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States, USC Norris has revolutionized cancer research, treatment, and prevention for nearly 50 years. Multidisciplinary teams provide the latest evidence-based care at USC Norris Cancer Hospital, a 60-bed hospital, as well as outpatient clinics throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties.
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center Announces New Breast Cancer Survivorship Program
October 19, 2021
There are currently more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors living in the U.S., yet three out of 10 women with invasive breast cancer will develop metastasis in their lifetime, meaning cancer that has spread to other organs. This is a source of worry for both patients and families. However, breast cancers that are not fully cured after treatment are often too small to be detected by mammograms or ultrasounds but pose a significant risk.
To address this challenge, the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine of USC is launching a major new initiative – The Eileen McGeever Breast Cancer Survivorship Program. Led, by USC Norris scientists and clinicians, Drs. Bodour Salhia, Irene Kang, and Caryn Lerman, this exciting new program is developing a novel blood test to detect the presence of micro-metastatic residual breast cancer at the end of therapy and develop a recurrence risk classifier that also incorporates additional clinical, environmental, and lifestyle risk factors.
“Approximately 90% of breast cancer deaths are due to metastasis,” says Dr. Caryn Lerman, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, associate dean for cancer programs, and the H. Leslie and Elaine S. Hoffman Chair in Cancer Research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “The Multi-Ethnic Breast Cancer Survivorship Program at USC Norris will develop the vital tools and resources needed to detect residual disease before it spreads to other organs when the cancer may be more treatable, giving the patients a better chance at survival.”
Integrating research and survivorship care, this multi-ethnic Breast Cancer Survivorship Program will further the development of a potential liquid biopsy – a blood-based test for detecting circulating tumor DNA – that could spur cancer’s recurrence and spread. Using next generation sequencing and artificial intelligence, the research team will validate this novel blood test in a cohort of 1,000 women. With the assistance of the USC Norris Population Research Core and the USC Norris Data Science Core, the multi-ethnic Breast Cancer Survivorship Program will leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches to incorporate environmental exposures, neighborhood data, and social determinants of health. This recurrence risk classifier will be utilized to develop an AI-based tool for determining a breast cancer survivor’s risk of recurrence.
Women who participate in this program will also receive educational resources, supportive care, and surveillance to detect the possible return of cancer earlier, when it may be more treatable.
For more information about this exciting program, please join us for the virtual launch on November 9th at 6 PM PST. To register for the event, please go to https://bit.ly/2YOPnbo.
About USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
At the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, more than 250 dedicated physicians and scientists are leading the fight to make cancer a disease of the past. As one of the eight original National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States, USC Norris has revolutionized cancer research, treatment, and prevention for nearly 50 years. Multidisciplinary teams provide the latest evidence-based care at USC Norris Cancer Hospital, a 60-bed hospital, as well as outpatient clinics throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. This year USC Norris successfully renewed its NCI comprehensiveness designation with an exceptional rating from the NCI.
To donate to this program, please contact Minhaal Nathani, Senior Director of Development, at Minhaal.Nathani@med.usc.edu for more information.
“Biological Pathways in Stress Reactivity and Nicotine Addiction among African American/Black and White Smokers,” led by Dr. Hughes-Halbert, is one of the research projects funded by the SPORE grant. Dr. Hughes-Halbert will be the first to investigate how cortisol – the body’s main stress hormone – relates to racial differences in smoking behaviors and overall lung cancer risk. These findings could lead to more tailored approaches to smoking cessation as well as medications that reduce the lung cancer burden on the Black community by counteracting stress.
“We are excited to be a part of this collaboration that will lead to novel discoveries and advance the science for lung cancer equity through a multi-institutional collaboration,” said Dr. Hughes-Halbert, who also serves as vice chair for research and professor for the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine.
Although the racial gap in lung cancer cases appears to be closing, likely due to the success of anti-smoking campaigns, Black men still have a higher risk of developing lung cancer compared to white men, even though they tend to smoke less – an effect referred to as the “Black smoking paradox.” Black patients are also more likely than white patients to be diagnosed at later stages and to receive no treatment at all for their cancer.
The grant will establish the Translational Research Center in Lung Cancer Disparities – TRACER for short – based at VCU Massey, in partnership with MUSC Hollings and City of Hope. TRACER will engage a host of community groups, including local health departments, community health centers, marginalized populations, civic activists, educational institutions, faith-based groups, and cancer survivors.
After the three-year funding period of this initial award, which is considered a P20 exploratory grant, the infrastructure will be in place to apply for a larger, five-year P50 SPORE award that will establish a more permanent research program devoted to ending racial inequities in lung cancer.
About USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
At the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, more than 250 dedicated physicians and scientists are leading the fight to make cancer a disease of the past. As one of the eight original National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States, USC Norris has revolutionized cancer research, treatment, and prevention for nearly 50 years. Multidisciplinary teams provide the latest evidence-based care at USC Norris Cancer Hospital, a 60-bed hospital, as well as outpatient clinics throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Join us for ” Casino Night: An Evening in Monte Carlo:” which supports life-saving pancreatic cancer research at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. This event will be held in person at the San Gabriel Country Club in San Gabriel, California, on Saturday, October 23, 2021, at 5 PM. To register for the event, click above or call 323.855.0048.
Featuring a special presentation by Dr. Caryn Lerman, Director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Drs. Steven Grossman and Wendy Setiawan, two leading scientists in pancreatic cancer research at USC Norris.
For more information, please contact:
Lupe Tovar USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center 1441 Eastlake Avenue, Suite 8302 Los Angeles, CA 90089 Phone: 323.865.0700 Email: Lupe.Tovar@med.usc.edu
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center receives renewal of prestigious designation from the National Cancer Institute
August 20, 2021
The USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (USC Norris) at Keck Medicine of USC renewed its comprehensiveness designation by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the highest federal rank for a cancer center in the nation. This designation accompanies funding through the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG), providing over $33 million to support the research, training, and community outreach missions of USC Norris over the next five years. USC Norris has held this prestigious NCI designation continuously since it became one of the nation’s first eight NCI-designated cancer centers in 1973.
The NCI review and renewal of this coveted designation is the result of an extensive grant application and review process that culminated with an NCI virtual site visit in May 2021. USC Norris earned a near-perfect overall rating (a score of 16 in a system where 10 is perfect and 90 is the weakest possible score). This is the best score in the history of USC Norris. Among the USC Norris components rated “exceptional” by NCI are community outreach and engagement, molecular genomics, translational pathology, and population research, as well as the center’s organizational capabilities, transdisciplinary collaboration, institutional commitment, and cancer center director.
“The renewal of this prestigious designation for USC Norris is a testament to our exceptional team of scientists, clinicians, and staff who work tirelessly to generate breakthrough discoveries that are revolutionizing how we assess risk, prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer,” said Dr. Caryn Lerman, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, H. Leslie and Elaine S. Hoffman Chair in Cancer Research, and associate dean for cancer programs in the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Indeed, USC Norris members hold over $104 million dollars in peer-reviewed cancer research grants of which over $20 million focuses on reducing cancer health disparities. “This fact, together with our exceptional community outreach and engagement, uniquely positions USC Norris to lead the nation in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in cancer mortality”, said Lerman.
Building upon this success, USC Norris will leverage new patient care facilities to expand clinical trials including the Norris Healthcare Consultation Center, Koreatown Clinic, and oncology clinics in Pasadena, Buena Park, and Arcadia. Apart from this community expansion, the USC Norris footprint on the primary USC Health Sciences Campus spans three buildings totaling over 300,000 square feet. Additionally, USC Norris has a rich tradition of collaboration across multiple USC Schools, as well as with our close partners, Children’s Hospital of LosAngeles (CHLA) and Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center.
“USC Norris was one of the first and most successful Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the country,” said Dr. Steven Shapiro, senior vice president for health affairs at USC. “This most recent NCI renewal demonstrates the exceptional trajectory of the Cancer Center under Dr. Lerman’s leadership, as it continues to accelerate the pace of turning research discoveries into innovative treatments that will improve patient care.”
About USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
At the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, more than 250 dedicated physicians and scientists are leading the fight to make cancer a disease of the past. As one of the eight original National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States, USC Norris has revolutionized cancer research, treatment, and prevention for nearly 50 years. Multidisciplinary teams provide the latest evidence-based care at USC Norris Cancer Hospital, a 60-bed hospital, as well as outpatient clinics throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Under this agreement, USC researchers will collaborate with scientists at the Institute’s Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics (Prebys Center) to transition clinically relevant targets to early-stage drug discovery, including assay development and high-throughput screening to identify chemical compounds that modulate the activity of the targets. The Prebys Center is a comprehensive center for drug discovery and chemical biology and is fully equipped and staffed to conduct world-class drug discovery research. It includes a compound library with a collection of more than 1 million diverse chemicals. Validated “hits” from this library can be developed into prototype drugs.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to accelerate the development of new oncology therapeutics and ultimately bring new treatments and renewed hope to our patients,” said Caryn Lerman PhD, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, H. Leslie and Elaine S. Hoffman Chair in Cancer Research, and associate dean for cancer programs in the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Under the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, the partnership also establishes a joint steering committee that will review and prioritize projects considered for collaboration. This collaboration will provide a new innovation pathway for USC researchers to rapidly translate basic research discoveries into promising new therapeutics by closing the gaps in early-stage drug discovery resources and expertise.
“We’re looking forward to working with USC Norris to develop innovative screens to identify chemical compounds that modulate the activity of clinically relevant cancer targets,” said Michael Jackson PhD, senior vice president of drug discovery and development at Sanford Burnham Prebys. “If successful, these compounds will form the basis of entirely new—‘first in class’—therapies that can potentially improve the outcomes for people living with cancer.”
The partnership is open to all USC researchers interested in cancer drug discovery and serves as a critical resource for the recently established CCDD at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. The mission of the CCDD is to accelerate promising oncology therapeutics into the clinic through collaborative drug development.
About USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
At the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, more than 250 dedicated physicians and scientists are leading the fight to make cancer a disease of the past. As one of the eight original National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States, USC Norris has revolutionized cancer research, treatment, and prevention for nearly 50 years. Multidisciplinary teams provide the latest research-based care at USC Norris Cancer Hospital, a 60-bed hospital, as well as outpatient clinics throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties.
About Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Sanford Burnham Prebys is a preeminent, independent biomedical research institute dedicated to understanding human biology and disease and advancing scientific discoveries to profoundly impact human health. For more than 40 years, our research has produced breakthroughs in cancer, neuroscience, immunology and children’s diseases, and is anchored by our NCI-designated Cancer Center and advanced drug discovery capabilities.
Cancer neuroscientists identify a key culprit behind pediatric brain cancer’s spread
June 29, 2021
ABAT enzyme helps medulloblastoma cells feed, according to study led by USC Brain Tumor Center and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
By Wayne Lewis
The image depicts neurons (green) in co-culture with medulloblastoma cells (red). Phenotypically, two contrasting cell types – the former normal and quiescent, while the latter cancerous and proliferating. Martirosian et al., through the perspective of cancer neuroscience, now provide evidence that rare cells in this pediatric brain tumor masquerade like quiescent neurons and exploit a neurotransmitter metabolic pathway to survive in the cerebrospinal fluid and promote leptomeningeal metastases. (Image/Vahan Martirosian, Josh Neman)
With advances in medical science driving progress against childhood brain tumors, today three out of four young patients survive at least five years beyond diagnosis. However, the outcomes look grim when malignant cells spread, or metastasize.
Such is the case with medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer that arises in the cerebellum, at the back of the head. Although rare in absolute terms — about 350 cases emerge each year, 60 percent of them in children — medulloblastoma is the most common and deadliest form of pediatric brain cancer. Metastasis to the lining of the brain or spinal cord is responsible for virtually all deaths from the disease.
Now, research led by USC investigators has shined new light on how medulloblastoma travels to other sites within the central nervous system. The study, which appeared in the journal Cell Reports, showed that an enzyme called GABA transaminase, abbreviated as ABAT, aids metastases in surviving the hostile environment around the brain and spinal cord and in resisting treatment. These findings may provide clues to new strategies for targeting deadly medulloblastoma metastases.
“This is one of the first studies to focus on how medulloblastoma spreads through the perspective of neuroscience,” said corresponding author Josh Neman, PhD, an assistant professor of neurosurgery and the scientific director of the USC Brain Tumor Center at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and a member of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. “These tumors are not only smart, but also utilize any means to grow. Now we know one key marker that the rogue cells use.”
Brain cancer cells change to spread
Medulloblastoma faces a substantial challenge in spreading to other parts of the central nervous system. The cerebrospinal fluid that fills cavities inside the brain, as well as surrounding the brain and spinal cord, lacks nutrients for cancer cells to feed upon.
For what cerebrospinal fluid lacks in nutrients, it makes up in an abundance of an amino acid called GABA. GABA’s primary purpose in the central nervous system is as a neurotransmitter that lessens the effects of other messenger molecules in the brain and spine. However, healthy neurons in the cerebellum also break GABA down for energy. The ABAT enzyme helps in the process.
Josh Neman, PhD, scientific director of the USC Brain Tumor Center, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The study led by Neman, his doctoral student Vahan Martirosian and their colleagues outlines how medulloblastoma metastases respond to the barren environment in cerebrospinal fluid by changing up their metabolism. The scientists showed that cells at the primary tumor site are low in ABAT compared to their neighbors in the brain, while traveling medulloblastoma cells are significantly higher in ABAT. The metastases avoid starvation by ramping up production of the ABAT enzyme so they can feed on GABA, in a sort of microscopic cloak-and-dagger exercise with deadly consequences.
Another effect of ABAT is to slow cell division. This turns out to be an advantage for the medulloblastoma metastases — ironically, considering that cancer is characterized by out-of-control growth. Because radiotherapy and chemotherapy affect the fastest-growing cells in the body, increased ABAT helps the metastases go undercover and resist treatment.
“When tumor cells go quiet, they’re very dangerous,” Neman said. “Current therapies don’t work perfectly on these quiet cancer cells — and that is why they ultimately survive and spread.”
Indeed, the researchers showed that ABAT-rich tumor cells were more resistant to cisplatin and vincristine, types of chemotherapy commonly used to treat medulloblastoma. And medulloblastoma cells were unable to spread to the linings of the brain and spine without ABAT.
A key comparison between cancerous and healthy brain cells
The Cell Reports study documents a chain of diligent investigations in which each answer led to an additional question that the researchers pursued. The paper reports on more than three dozen individual experiments designed to understand the metabolism, survival and proliferation of medulloblastoma cells. The scientists’ methods ran the gamut from analyzing DNA and RNA datasets to studying the metabolism of cells grown in culture, from working with genetically engineered lab models to examining tumor samples donated by patients.
According to Neman, one particularly powerful tool his team used to understand the spread of medulloblastoma was the side-by-side comparison of cancerous cells with healthy brain cells of various types. In certain ways, the slow-growing metastases seemed to ape processes seen in neurons — cells that do not divide and reproduce.
“Our approach was utilizing the emerging field called cancer neuroscience, where normal developmental neurobiology meets cancer biology,” he said. “The ultimate quiet cell in the body is the neuron, and these cancer cells are using similar pathways to become rogue and survive.”
As next steps in this line of inquiry, Neman is leading preclinical studies to test whether drugs that inhibit ABAT will halt medulloblastoma metastases. Meanwhile, his research group will delve into other elements of ABAT’s role in the disease.
“With neuronal comparison, we’re just hitting the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “There are many more features of these dormant tumor cells that we haven’t discovered yet.”
About this study
Other co-authors are Krutika Deshpande, Michelle Lin, Vazgen Stepanosyan, Diganta Das, Camelia Danilo, Thomas Chen, Kyle Hurth, Shaobo Li, Joseph Wiemels, Brooke Nakamura and Ling Shao, all of the Keck School; Hao Zhou and Keyue Shen of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering; Kyle Smith and Paul Northcott of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; Jan Remsik, Danielle Isakov and Adrienne Boire of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; and Henk De Feyter of Yale University.
The study was supported by the American Brain Tumor Association (DG1600003), the National Institutes of Health (P30DK048522) and the Keck School’s Dean Pilot Project Grant.
About USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
At the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, more than 250 dedicated physicians and scientists are leading the fight to make cancer a disease of the past. As one of the eight original National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States, USC Norris has revolutionized cancer research, treatment, and prevention for nearly 50 years. Multidisciplinary teams provide the latest research-based care at USC Norris Cancer Hospital, a 60-bed hospital, as well as outpatient clinics throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Save The Date for the 7th Annual Swing Against Cancer Event which supports lifesaving cancer research at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. This event will be held in person at the Rancho La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, California, on Friday, November 19, 2021. To register for the event, please fill out the registration form above.
For more information or to register, please contact:
Lupe Tovar USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center 1441 Eastlake Avenue, Suite 8302 Los Angeles, CA 90089 Phone: 323.865.0700 Email: Lupe.Tovar@med.usc.edu
There are currently more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors living in the U.S., yet three out of 10 women with invasive breast cancer will develop metastasis in their lifetime, meaning cancer that has spread to other organs. This is a source of worry for both patients and families. However, breast cancers that are not fully cured after treatment are often too small to be detected by mammograms or ultrasounds but pose a significant risk. 
The 
To accelerate the development of groundbreaking cancer treatments, the 
