Targeting Oncogenic Pathways in Head and Neck Cancer

Targeting Oncogenic Pathways in Head and Neck Cancer – Air date: Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 3:00:00 PM Description: Margaret Pittman Lecture Dr. Jennifer R. Grandis was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pa. She earned her BA in art history and biology from Swarthmore College and her medical degree with high honors from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She completed her internship in general surgery and her residency in otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh. During her training she began to focus her studies on the biology of head and neck tumor growth. She has dedicated her research career to the study of the critical genetic alterations that characterize these cancers, with the ultimate goal of improving patient treatment and survival. Her laboratory was among the first to validate the epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR) and Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription (STATs) as therapeutic targets in head and neck cancer (HNC), thus paving the way for studies in other cancers. EGFR serves as a central integration point for coordination of a broad array of cellular signals. She demonstrated that G-protein-coupled receptors(GPCRs) “transactivate” EGFR contributing to HNC progression. Each of these basic science observations has been translated into clinical trials. She developed an antisense gene therapy approach targeting EGFR and completed a phase 1 study that found a high clinical response rate (35%), which correlated with decreased EGFR expression in the post-treatment biopsies …