Building on a legacy of leading cancer innovation, the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center is a collaboration of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. They work closely with hospitals and physicians across Nebraska and the Midwest to provide needed access to the latest and most innovative options in cancer treatment, including clinical trials often offered only through research-based academic medical centers.

The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center brings the world’s brightest cancer scientists together with internationally recognized physicians in a single state-of-the-art facility dedicated to curing cancer. The new cancer center is comprised of cancer research at the Suzanne and Walter Scott Cancer Research Tower and clinical treatments at the C.L. Werner Cancer Hospital.

The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center continues to enhance its core strengths in cancer research.  Funds donated through Lungs4Life are currently designated for an exciting new research project focused on Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC).

 

SCLC is an aggressive disease with rapid growth and early metastases. There has not been any major progress in SCLC over the past two and half decades. Although SCLC is initially sensitive to chemotherapy, patients invariably relapse and, when that happens, the cancer becomes very resistant to standard chemotherapy. Understanding the mechanisms behind relapse and chemoresistance would significantly improve SCLC outcomes. 

 

Brigatinib is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat ALK positive lung adenocarcinoma, a different subtype of lung cancer. Brigatinib can also act against the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) pathway, which is significantly overexpressed in SCLC tumor specimens and is associated with poor survival rates.

 

Researchers hypothesize that Brigatinib, both alone and in combination with chemotherapy, will affect cell growth in SCLC and be a possible treatment option for patients. Researchers will study the effects of the brigatinib alone and in combination with chemotherapy on the growth and motility of SCLC cell lines. They will also study the effect of brigatinib on chemoresistance to commonly used chemotherapy agents in SCLC, namely cisplatin, etoposide and topotecan.”

To learn more or to receive email updates, please visit www.BuffettCancerCenter.com.

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