Pediatric Surgical Oncology Laboratory Funded Projects

Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas
Predictive biomarkers and novel therapies for high-risk pediatric liver cancers.
Elucidate the mechanisms behind chemoresistance and vascular invasion in high-risk pediatric liver cancer.

• Determine the major regulators of p53 tumor suppressor silencing and methods of reactivating tumor suppressor signaling in high-risk pediatric liver cancer.
• Determine the differential gene expression and pathway regulation within areas of vascular invasion in high-risk HB in order to target susceptible pathways.
• Test the susceptibility and response of patient-dervied xenografts from high-risk and relapse/refractory pediatric liver cancer patients to targeted MDM4/p53, JAK/STAT3 agents and GPC3 CAR T-cell immunotherapy.

Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas
Patient-Derived Xenografts and Advanced In Vivo Models (PDX-AIM) Core Facility.
Develop patient-derived xenografts for pediatric and adult liver cancer using novel engrafting methods.

• Improve tumor implantation rate for liver cancer PDX’s.
• Develop tumor spheroid and matrigel-coated plasticware techniques as intermediaries for biopsy samples.
• Use circulating tumor cells to generate PDX models when primary tissue samples are not available.

Macy Easom Cancer Research Foundation Grant
Development of novel targeted therapies for hepatoblastoma using patient-derived xenografts.

• Establish a core panel of patient-derived xenografts and cell lines for high risk and relapsed hepatoblastoma patients.
• Test effects of MDM4 and DUSP9 inhibition on tumorigenesis of heptoblastoma.