An important area of translational study is drug development and improvement for the treatment of different types of cancers.
Work by our investigators includes the discovery of potential novel drugs, modification of available drugs, and development of new targeted cancer therapies.
Nanoparticle-based anticancer drug delivery is one area of translational research. We have investigators who work to better understand drug disposition through population and individualized pharmacokinetic parameters, with the goal to optimize anti-cancer therapies and to improve treatment outcome of novel and existing anti-cancer therapies.
Several investigators focus on the development of new therapies for different malignancies, including the approach of targeting cellular signaling pathways to directly kill cancer cells or to sensitize cancer cells to current chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The combination of various nutrients with chemotherapy and radiation therapy is also studied.
Other novel therapies under development include adoptive immunotherapy, fusion proteins as a new class of therapeutic agents, and cellular therapy. Multiple lines of study are ongoing with the goal of individualized therapy, including the development of new technologies that allow matching a patient's unique cancer growth signals with specific therapies that block such signals.
The department actively encourages new fundamental discoveries, investigator-initiated research and clinical trials, which are crucial to meeting our goals for reducing cancer morbidity and mortality.
Translational research programs within the department include:
Bone Marrow Transplant
Research is focused on making bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cell and cord blood transplants safer and more effective. Recent advances include new combinations of chemotherapy that increase the likelihood of a successful transplant, so that transplants are safer and more feasible for a wider range of patients who could benefit from these procedures.
Breast Cancer
Translational breast cancer researchers are investigating the use of hormonal and targeted therapies and the mechanisms of selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) resistance. Evaluations of novel targeted approaches for triple negative breast cancer have led to the development of new trials for patients with this subtype of breast cancer. Another goal of the breast cancer program is to understand the different genetic variations involved in cancer development and to devise targeted treatments based on those variations.
Cell Therapy
Immune reconstitution after high dose chemotherapy and hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation represents a significant clinical problem, as patients with poor post-transplant immunity have increased opportunistic infections and increased risk for cancer recurrence. Translational research focuses on developing novel strategies to enhance immunity with a focus on the interaction between dendritic cells and T-cells. Additional research focuses on cell and gene therapy for cancer and immune ailments, regenerative medicine. Laboratory research is focused on cell and biological therapy for cancer and immune ailments, exploring the utility of stem cells for regenerative medicine, immune modulation, and delivery of therapeutic proteins for treatment of acquired and hereditary diseases.
Chemoprevention, Nutrition and Cancer
Preclinical and clinical translational research investigates the potential use of natural compounds, including green tea, lycopene, luteolin, resveratrol, soy isoflavones, honokiol, and curcumin analogs for the prevention and treatment of cancer. Lycopene and soy isoflavones are potent anti-cancer agents which may be useful in preventing and slowing the progression of prostate cancer in particular, and possibly preventing chemotherapy- and radiation therapy-induced toxicities. Furthermore, soy isoflavones may enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy in a variety of malignancies. Combinations of natural compounds with molecularly targeted agents (e.g., green tea PPE plus EGFR-TKI) are being explored.
Genitourinary Cancer
Innovative research investigating new approaches to prostate, kidney and bladder cancer therapies using combinations of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and nutritional agents. Soy isoflavones in combination with standard therapy are currently under clinical investigation for prostate cancer.
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Gastrointestinal oncology researchers focus on targeted therapies for pancreatic, gastric and colorectal cancers. The program includes investigator-initiated phase I and II studies through NCI-initiated clinical consortiums.
Leukemia
Leukemia researchers focus on the development of novel targeted agents for the treatment of patients with leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes and study dynamic genetic profile changes in cancer cells collected from patients with hematological malignancies throughout the course of their disease. The data collected are used to help physicians better tailor anti-cancer treatment modalities such as pathway-targeted therapies—immunotherapy using bone marrow transplantation to prevent relapse following standard chemotherapy. Other treatment approaches include targeted therapies using small molecules (tyrosine kinase inhibitors) for CML, monoclonal antibody therapy for AML, and biological therapies such as interferon-alfa for CML and all trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) for acute promyelocytic leukemia.
Lung and Aerodigestive Cancer
Researchers are developing molecular, prognostic, therapeutic, and chemopreventive approaches to improve standard of care in patients with lung and aerodigestive cancers. The Lung Cancer SPORE is the first and only grant of its kind to be awarded in the state of Georgia. This translational cancer research program is investigating how to improve immunotherapy for patients, how to test novel targeted therapies to overcome resistance, and how to accelerate new treatment paradigms.
Lymphoma
Lymphoma researchers study the molecular mechanisms that may contribute to the development of several lymphoid cancers such as multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's and Hodgkin's lymphoma, and may represent possible pathways to deliver targeted therapies.
Myeloma
Myeloma research includes cutting-edge studies using arsenic to induce apoptosis in myeloma. Arsenic trioxide is FDA-approved for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), and is being tested in several other diseases including bone marrow cancers and multiple myeloma. Other myeloma research focuses on cancer immunotherapy with preclinical and clinical research focusing on dendritic cell function in the context of allotransplantation, and on developing a B-cell malignancy program with respect to novel targeted agents in laboratory models as well as early clinical trials.