By Cristina D’Imperio
Partha Roy, PhD, McGowan affiliated faculty, has been awarded an R01 by the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Roy’s project, titled “Transcriptional Regulation of Dormancy and Emergence in Breast Cancer,” began in September and seeks to address the relationship between metastatic outgrowth of extravasated cancer calls in breast cancer patients and patient survival rates.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the U.S. and is largely caused by the metastatic growth of disseminated cells.
While the dissemination of cancer cells occurs during the early stages of tumor growth, the metastatic outgrowth of extravasated cancer cells can take years, primarily because of the dormant behavior of cancer cells.
Dr. Roy’s study hypothesizes that the survival of breast cancer patients should be improved if the dormancy of the cells if prolonged or if the metastatic growth is slowed. His project further hypothesizes that both of these actions are related to the Myocardin-related transcription factor (MRTF). The study seeks to determine the role of MRTF/SRF (serum-response factor) in the regulation of dormancy or growth in breast cancer cells as well as to test whether MRTF-SRF promotes the growth of breast cancer cells.
Upon completion of the project, Dr. Roy and his team hope to identify gene regulation programs and other treatments to slow the growth of breast cancer and increase patient survival rates.
Read the project abstract here.
Visit the Roy Lab here.