HonCode

Go Back   HER2 Support Group Forums > Articles of Interest
Register Gallery FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-30-2013, 09:14 AM   #1
'lizbeth
Senior Member
 
'lizbeth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Sunny San Diego
Posts: 2,214
Post H. Shelton Earp, MD

H. Shelton Earp, MD

Professor and Director, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC >>read Profile

2013-2014 BCRF Project:
(The Estée Lauder Award)
The UNC Lineberger team led by Dr. Earp continues its research program featuring clinical and genetic breast cancer research centered on the EGF receptor and other receptor tyrosine kinase families. This report relays recent progress and budget expenditures for the three areas:
  • Improved Anti-HER2 Breast Cancer Vaccine Strategies
  • EGF Receptor Family in Breast Cancer: the Role of HER4 and WWOX
  • Mer Receptor Tyrosine Kinase – Role in Breast Cancer Tumor-Associated Macrophages and Triple Negative Breast Cancer
The Phase I/II HER2 vaccine trial— investigating the combination of vinorelbine, trastuzumab and a multi-HER2 epitope dendritic cell vaccine in the treatment of women with high HER2-expressing metastatic breast cancer—has completed accrual and will be in analysis over the next 12 months. The first three EGFR family members (EGFR, HER2 and HER3) are associated with poor breast cancer prognosis while HER4 can be a good prognostic sign. Investigating the HER4 mechanisms led Dr. Earp’s team to WWOX, a tumor suppressor of unknown function that binds HER4. Some human breast cancers lose WWOX expression and, due to a genomic aberration, some breast cancers express a truncated WWOX protein. The team’s experiments confirm that WWOX suppresses breast cell growth and show for the first time that expressing the truncated WWOX stimulates breast cancer cell growth. Lastly, their lab identified another receptor tyrosine kinase, Mer, which is overexpressed in triple negative breast cancer cell lines. MDA-231 cells that more frequently metastasize to the brain in pre-clinical models express even higher Mer levels. In addition, Mer’s normal function in tumor macrophages may play a role in breast cancer progression by suppressing the immune response to tumors. Dr. Earp’s initial data (Journal of Clinical Investigation, in press) demonstrate that Mer signaling helps create the immune suppression produced by tumor-associated macrophages. Elimination of Mer signaling allows the immune system to fight mammary tumors in pre-clinical models. These studies aim to open new avenues of breast cancer immune therapy.
In 2013-2014, Dr. Earp’s team will finalize and publish their Breast Cancer Vaccine Trial results, investigate the oncogenic and tumor suppressive function of HER4 and WWOX, and study the breast cancer microenvironment role of the Mer receptor tyrosine kinase, as well as test whether inhibition of Mer will stimulate anti-breast cancer immunity.
Bio:
Dr. H. Shelton Earp is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. After a medical internship at Vanderbilt and service in the army, he returned to Chapel Hill where he performed his residency and fellowship, joining the faculty in 1976. He is now the Lineberger Professor of Cancer Research and a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology. In his role as Director at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, he coordinates cancer research and care at one of the country's premier public universities, including establishment of cancer epidemiology and prevention research programs with faculty in the School of Public Health.
Dr. Earp’s laboratory conducts clinical and translational breast cancer research as well as basic research on the behavior of cancer cells by studying the signals that regulate cell growth, differentiation and programmed cell death. His group has identified and studied genes involved in these cellular decisions. He has authored 160 biomedical-research papers. He serves as Principal Investigator of the UNC Breast Cancer SPORE and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center grants. The UNC Breast SPORE, one of the original four Breast Cancer SPOREs, was just renewed for five years, Years 15-19.
Dr. Earp has been the recipient of UNC School of Medicine teaching awards and has served on boards and chaired national review committees for the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. He is an elected member of the American Association of Professors, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and recently served as President of the American Association of Cancer Institutes.
'lizbeth is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:02 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright HER2 Support Group 2007 - 2021
free webpage hit counter