Dr. Nilay Sethi’s Team Reports Major Progress in Research Funded by Seed Grant

By blocking this enzyme, called PARP, the treatment can lead to the death of cancer cells. PARP inhibitor drugs have been previously FDA-approved for treatment of ovarian and breast cancers, and recent research has demonstrated that they show potential in gastric cancer.

Dr. Sethi believes that patients who are deficient in another biomarker called homologous recombination (HR) may be especially receptive to PARP inhibition. Research suggests that nearly a quarter of gastric cancer patients may be functionally HR deficient, so if effective, PARP inhibitor treatments could be used for this substantial subset of patients. Dr. Sethi’s team has focused on successfully developing a diagnostic tool that can accurately identify patients with genuine HR repair deficiencies – a hallmark of the project so far.

Incredible progress continues to be made in the advancement of targeting gastric cancer treatment. Here are some highlights:

Research from the Salama Lab in the Human Biology Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center reveals a unique cell lineage associated with inflammation and early stages of gastric cancer, offering potential targets for personalized treatments.

Korea University and MD Anderson Cancer Center introduce a novel genetic classification for gastric cancer, opening avenues for personalized treatments with six Consensus Genomic Subtypes.