Assistant Professor in the Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery Renata Jaskula-Sztul, Ph.D., has received a two-year, $381,830 National Institutes of Health (NIH) NCI R21 grant. This is her second R21 grant award for 2020.
In their project titled, “Imaging of alterations in SSTR2 expression with histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors treatment for neuroendocrine tumors,” Jaskula-Stzul and her team- which includes an existing collaboration with Suzanne Lapi, Ph.D., UAB professor of radiology and chemistry, director of UAB’s Cyclotron and Radiochemistry Facility- outline a proposal with plan to develop a method of imaging and treatment specifically for neuroendocrine (NE) cancers.
Cells of this type of cancer often produce a specific protein called somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (SSTR2) on the surface. Importantly, this protein is not produced in other organs. New therapies, which target this protein, are proving very effective. Unfortunately, not all neuroendocrine patients possess this marker or have it but at very low level and therefore cannot benefit from highly targeted effective therapies.
Preliminary studies showed that both thailandepsin A (TDP-A) and valproic acid (VPA) were able to increase the amount of SSTR2 in NE cancer cells and potentially convert NE patients ineligible for targeted imaging and therapy to eligible candidates for lifesaving treatments. To expand their studies, the team will test NE cell lines originating from multiple patients. They will treat these cancer cells with TDP-A and VPA and determine with different advanced techniques if SSTR2 is present on the surface of these cells. Additionally, the team will detect SSTR2 expression in different NE cancer patients using neoplastic tissues already collected at UAB Pathology Tumor Bank pathology. They will also use advanced imaging techniques to investigate SSTR2 changes during therapy in animal models of NE cancer.
The assessments of this technique that Jaskula-Sztul and her team proposed could enable the future first in-human application of this technology and could improve the diagnosis, management, and treatment of NE cancers. The results of their proposal will generate data that could lead to a clinical study; increasing awareness about the NE cancer, and potentially increasing the rate of survival of patients with this neoplasm.
Jaskula-Sztul is looking forward to potentially improving the diagnosis, management and treatment of NE cancers.
“To be able to improve patient experiences and outcomes for neuroendocrine cancers with our research is incredibly motivational for the entire lab and our research projects,” said Jaskula-Sztul. “The Department of Surgery, and other research groups at UAB, are pioneering more advanced, targeted techniques for cancer treatment in order to improve the lives of our patients.”