University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI)

Overview

Clinical experience has shown that it is frequently not possible to completely eradicate cancer, especially when it has spread to distant sites. Recently, attention has focused on the hypothesis that cancer treatment failure is a consequence of the resistance of a small subpopulation of cancer cells (termed cancer stem cells) to chemotherapy or other anticancer therapies. These resistant cancer stem cells are believed to be responsible for driving the development and spread of cancer. UPCI has identified cancer stem cells as an important emerging area and has developed a new program focused on rigorously testing the cancer stem cell hypothesis. The various members of this program are involved in the identification and characterization of cancer stem cells associated from different malignancies, particularly cancers of blood, breast, ovaries, prostate, and lung.

The goals of the Cancer Stem Cell Program (CSCP) are to develop more sensitive new tests to detect and examine cancer stem cells, and to identify new drugs that can selectively target and eradicate them. Areas of research include:

1. Rigorous examination of the biological and clinical relevance of the cancer stem cell hypothesis (phenotype vs. outcome)
2. Research on key stem cell properties including: (1) self-renewal, (2) survival, (3) migration, and (4) drug and radiation resistance
3. Investigations on the role of microenvironmental factors, including angiogenesis, in the survival and proliferation of cancer stem cells
4. Development of molecularly targeted drugs and immunotherapeutics against cancer stem cells
5. Development of key technology platforms for: (1) cell sorting, (2) gene profiling, (3) gene targeting, and (4) in vitro and in vivo modeling