Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the world with a 5-year survival rate of less than 15% which has not changed for the past three decades. At diagnosis, most patients already have advanced-stage disease and the use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy is rarely curative. This poor overall survival may be due to the fact that both chemotherapy and radiation therapy preferentially kill actively dividing cancer cells, which survive such treatment and eventually cause cancer recurrence and death. Thus, novel approaches to target quiescent tumor cells are needed. The cancer stem cell hypothesis proposes that cancers arise from relatively inactive stem cells that are capable of self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation into more mature cancer cells. Evidence supports the existence of cancer stem cells in several tumor types and recent studies have identified putative stem cells in lung cancer. We have been evaluating the biologic characteristics of lung cancer stem cells in an effort to develop novel strategies for treatment that would reduce recurrence rates and improve patient survival. Notch is a highly conserved signaling pathway that regulates cell fate decisions during development and in tissue homeostasis. Notch signaling regulates the self-renewal potential of stem/progenitor cell populations in multiple contexts and has been proposed to support the self-renewal capability of some cancer stem cell populations. Gene expression profiling of non-small-cell lung cancer specimens has shown elevated expression of downstream effectors of Notch signaling, suggesting an important role of Notch signaling in lung carcinogenesis. Data from our laboratory and from other investigators have shown that inhibition of Notch signaling by gamma secretase inhibitors (GSI) can decrease cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in some lung cancer cell lines. However, the specific mechanisms underlying this activity of GSI and the effect of Notch inhibition on lung cancer and lung cancer stem cells have not been explored. Our preliminary data show that different lung cancer cell lines have variable expression of Notch receptors and its pathway components. In these cell lines, the GSI MRK003 induces growth inhibition due to cell cycle arrest leading to apoptotic cell death. In addition, treating lung cancer mouse xenografts with MRK003 limits the serial reimplantation potential of these tumors, suggesting a possible inhibitory effect on cancer stem cells. Thus, it is important to distinguish global effects of the drug on cancer cells, and the specific effects on cancer stem cells. In this application, we propose to investigate the specific role of the Notch pathway in lung cancer stem cells utilizing primary human lung tumor tissue and assess the impact of Notch inhibition on tumor formation. This work presents a novel approach in treating lung cancer by targeting cancer stem cells and provides basis for future clinical trials.

Public Health Relevance

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the world and in the United States; it is estimated that in 2009 there was 220,000 new cases of lung cancer and 160,000 deaths in the US. In contrast,colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers combined are responsible for 118,000 deaths. It is clear that Lung cancer is a major public health problem in need for novel treatment approaches.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Clinical Investigator Award (CIA) (K08)
Project #
5K08CA158425-05
Application #
8906493
Study Section
Subcommittee I - Transistion to Independence (NCI)
Program Officer
Lim, Susan E
Project Start
2011-09-22
Project End
2016-08-31
Budget Start
2015-09-01
Budget End
2016-08-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
073133571
City
Ann Arbor
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48109
Hassan, Khaled A (2018) Small cell lung cancer heterogeneity: elevated a Notch above the Rest! J Thorac Dis 10:554-556
El Kadi, Najwa; Wang, Luo; Davis, April et al. (2018) The EGFR T790M Mutation Is Acquired through AICDA-Mediated Deamination of 5-Methylcytosine following TKI Treatment in Lung Cancer. Cancer Res 78:6728-6735
Hassan, Khaled A; Wang, Luo; Korkaya, Hasan et al. (2013) Notch pathway activity identifies cells with cancer stem cell-like properties and correlates with worse survival in lung adenocarcinoma. Clin Cancer Res 19:1972-80
Hassan, Khaled A; Chen, Guoan; Kalemkerian, Gregory P et al. (2009) An embryonic stem cell-like signature identifies poorly differentiated lung adenocarcinoma but not squamous cell carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res 15:6386-90