CELL PROLIFERATION AND CELL DEATH

PROGRAM LEADER

Clark W. Distelhorst, MD Professor, Medicine-Hematology/Oncology, Pharmacology cwd@case.edu

Program Themes | Program Information | Program Members | Focus Groups

PROGRAM THEMES

• Identification of gene expression changes that mediate hormonal effects on cancer cells
• Investigation of signaling pathways that regulate cell proliferation and cell death

PROGRAM INFORMATION

The central theme of this Program is to understand the signaling pathways that regulate cell proliferation and cell death, and the hormonal regulation of these processes. Aberrancies of cell growth and cell death are fundamental problems that contribute to the pathogenesis of virtually all forms of cancer. Also, many forms of cancer therapy have the intent of inhibiting cell proliferation or inducing cell death. Hormonal regulation of both cell proliferation and cell death are of direct relevance to the pathogenesis of cancer, the prevention of cancer and the treatment of cancer. Also, glucocorticosteroid hormones are among the most effective agents employed in the treatment of a wide variety of lymphoid malignancies and epidemiological studies have provided strong evidence that estrogens provide a protective role against colon cancer. The efficacy of glucocorticoids in treating lymphoid malignancies stems from their ability to induce apoptosis in immature lymphocytes. Two specific hormone-responsive malignancies are topics of basic investigation with translational potential in this program: breast cancer and lymphoid malignancies. Research in this program is particularly relevant to cancers in which cell proliferation and cell death decisions are regulated by members of the nuclear receptor family. Although hormone-responsive malignancies are the central cancer-related feature of this program, our work is also contributing to an understanding of the regulation of cell proliferation and cell death relevant to other types of cancer.

PROGRAM MEMBERS