The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting, one of the largest cancer research meetings in the world, was held in Chicago this abr. This meeting covers research into all cancers and attracts thousands of attendees each year.
This year’s meeting featured several research studies presented by LCRF grantees – advancements in lung cancer science made possible by LCRF’s supporters and donors. Among the highlights:
- The plenary session on KRAS mutant lung cancers acknowledged the postdoctoral work of 2022 grantee Jonathan Ostrem, MD, PhD. Dr. Ostrem is currently developing an approach for tumor-specific release of drugs in the context of EGFR mutant tumors.
- The team working with 2022 grantee Timothy Burns, MD, PhD presented a poster on identifying specific mechanism in these metastatic cells and characterized several therapeutic approaches to eliminate them.
- Work by 2022 grantee Jaime Schneider, MD, PhD – regarding metabolic reprogramming of ALK+ lung cancer – was highly referred in a session dedicated to lung cancer. Dr. Burns’ and Dr. Schneiders’ studies both have potential for clinical translation.
- Another highly discussed topic is drug-tolerant persister cells. 2023 grantee Benjamin Morris, PhD presented a poster on tracking and characterizing drug-resistant cells of small cell lung cancer.
In addition to the projects presented by LCRF grantees, Scientific Advisory Board members John Heymach, MD, PhD and Charles Rudin, MD, PhD discussed the progress of small-molecule, tyrosine kinase inhibitors in treating lung cancers with HER2 mutation. The next step involves understanding the biology of rare mutations and to overcome brain metastasis. This progress demonstrates another positive development resulting from lung cancer research.
More about the AACR Annual Meeting can be found at the event website.