TheoryLab

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women in the United States and worldwide. Small cell lung cancer comprises 15-17% of lung cancer cases, and it is the most aggressive subtype of lung cancer, growing rapidly and spreading to other organs quickly.

Luke Hoeppner, PhD, received American Cancer Society funding to test whether therapeutically targeting a specific molecular pathway inhibits small cell lung cancer growth.

Dr. Hoeppner’s lab was the first to report that activation of this particular pathway, called dopamine signaling, inhibits other forms of lung cancer growth. By therapeutically altering the dopamine signaling pathway, he hopes to inhibit small cell lung cancer progression and drug resistance, facilitating further advancement to new treatments.

For more information about lung cancer, visit https://www.cancer.org/cancer/lung-cancer.html.

Luke Hoeppner, PhD, is Assistant Professor and leader of the Cancer Biology research section at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota.

5:09 – What is small cell lung cancer? What vital statistics about it should we know?

5:57 –What is the standard therapy for small cell lung cancer patients?

8:13 – Why is it so hard to treat?

10:04 – “Another way to put it is…”

13:59 – Why drug resistance is such an important area of research for small cell lung cancer

15:42 – “We’re trying to focus on understanding what in particular small cell lung cancer cells are doing to evade chemotherapy, and is there a combination treatment that we could add to chemotherapy that would prevent (resistance)?”

16:18 – On his lab’s novel approach to combatting resistance

24:17 – What are the therapeutic implications?

25:05 – Why he’s optimistic about this line of research

26:31 – On how American Cancer Society funding has impacted his research

27:18 – A message he’d like to share with cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

According to American Cancer Society researchers, in the United States in 2021, there will be an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in women.*

Finding breast cancer early and getting state-of-the-art cancer treatment are the most important strategies to prevent deaths from breast cancer. Breast cancer that’s found early, when it’s small and has not spread, is easier to treat successfully. Getting regular screening tests is the most reliable way to find breast cancer early. The American Cancer Society has screening guidelines for women at average risk of breast cancer, and for those at high risk for breast cancer: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/screening-tests-and-early-detection/american-cancer-society-recommendations-for-the-early-detection-of-breast-cancer.html.

Two breast cancer researchers joined the podcast to discuss screening for the early detection of breast cancer.

Anne Marie McCarthy, PhD is a cancer epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine. She is the recipient of an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant to fund her research into “A Precision Medicine Approach to Breast Cancer Early Detection.”

Lauren Teras, PhD, is a senior scientific director of epidemiology research in the Population Science team at the American Cancer Society.

7:43 – Important things to know about breast cancer risk

9:55 – Why mammography is recommended for all women - “Any woman that has breasts should think about screening for breast cancer with mammography on a regular basis”

12:50 – But mammography screening isn’t necessarily enough for all women

18:26 – On the challenges of mammography screening and aggressive cancers

23:21 – On the association of breast density with cancer risk

26:48 – Women who could benefit from more intensive screening

29:46 – On being the best advocate for yourself (What do recommendations and high-risk categories mean for an individual?)

34:45 – A message for breast cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

35:56 – The impact of American Cancer Society funding on Dr. McCarthy’s research

* https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2021/cancer-facts-and-figures-2021.pdf

According to American Cancer Society researchers, in the United States in 2021, there will be an estimated 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in women.*

Finding breast cancer early and getting state-of-the-art cancer treatment are the most important strategies to prevent deaths from breast cancer. Breast cancer that’s found early, when it’s small and has not spread, is easier to treat successfully. Getting regular screening tests is the most reliable way to find breast cancer early. The American Cancer Society has screening guidelines for women at average risk of breast cancer, and for those at high risk for breast cancer: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/screening-tests-and-early-detection/american-cancer-society-recommendations-for-the-early-detection-of-breast-cancer.html.

Two breast cancer researchers joined the podcast to discuss screening for the early detection of breast cancer.

Anne Marie McCarthy, PhD is a cancer epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine. She is the recipient of an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant to fund her research into “A Precision Medicine Approach to Breast Cancer Early Detection.”

Lauren Teras, PhD, is a senior scientific director of epidemiology research in the Population Science team at the American Cancer Society.

7:43 – Important things to know about breast cancer risk

9:55 – Why mammography is recommended for all women - “Any woman that has breasts should think about screening for breast cancer with mammography on a regular basis”

12:50 – But mammography screening isn’t necessarily enough for all women

18:26 – On the challenges of mammography screening and aggressive cancers

23:21 – On the association of breast density with cancer risk

26:48 – Women who could benefit from more intensive screening

29:46 – On being the best advocate for yourself (What do recommendations and high-risk categories mean for an individual?)

34:45 – A message for breast cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

35:56 – The impact of American Cancer Society funding on Dr. McCarthy’s research

* https://www.cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-facts-and-figures/2021/cancer-facts-and-figures-2021.pdf

“More than 50% of cancer survivors report problems paying medical bills, financial distress, or delaying and/or forgoing medical care in the past year.”*

The financial burden of cancer can affect survivors for years. And it can affect anyone: a cancer diagnosis as a young adult can have financial ramifications that can change the course of a person’s life; a diagnosis for someone who’s retired and on a fixed income can pose problems that nobody should have to face. The cost of cancer treatment also deepens disparities—not everyone can afford the most effective treatments.

Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, and Robin Yabroff, PhD, are two of the leading voices on research on the financial burden of cancer. They joined the podcast to discuss prescription drug coverage in America, problems that cause financial challenges for people with and without insurance, and potential policy solutions.

Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and an Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research at Vanderbilt University.

Robin Yabroff, PhD, is the Scientific Vice President of Health Services Research in the Surveillance and Health Equity Science team at the American Cancer Society.

*Yabroff, K.R., Zhao, J., Han, X. et al. Prevalence and Correlates of Medical Financial Hardship in the USA. J GEN INTERN MED 34, 1494–1502 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-05002-w

2:12 – Pain points in prescription drug coverage for Americans – for infusion therapies…

7:39 – …and for orally administered therapies

12:24 – Why it can be hard to predict financial toxicity

13:48 – An example that hits close to home – a metastatic breast cancer patient with Medicare Advantage

17:33 – The financial implications of being diagnosed with cancer when young…of paying for cancer therapies when retired and on a fixed income…and of dealing with the costs of chronic illness

22:42 – Solutions!

“The most obvious one to me is fixing the Medicare Part D policy to limit total out-of-pocket spending…”

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2027580

25:34 – Ways to reduce the burden of high deductible plans

27:54 – “Despite how dire the situation you describe is, it’s actually worse.”

How new advances in treatment will worsen cancer disparities unless we take action

29:30 – Evidence showing that Medicaid expansion helps, but “making care affordable is going to take a lot more than Medicaid expansion”

31:11 – “We’ve got to stop paying for the stuff that doesn’t work if we want to have better coverage for the stuff that does work.”

37:04 – Why cancer prevention strategies are key

39:00 – Advice for newly diagnosed cancer patients and their families for dealing with the financial cost of cancer

“More than 50% of cancer survivors report problems paying medical bills, financial distress, or delaying and/or forgoing medical care in the past year.”*

The financial burden of cancer can affect survivors for years. And it can affect anyone: a cancer diagnosis as a young adult can have financial ramifications that can change the course of a person’s life; a diagnosis for someone who’s retired and on a fixed income can pose problems that nobody should have to face. The cost of cancer treatment also deepens disparities—not everyone can afford the most effective treatments.

Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, and Robin Yabroff, PhD, are two of the leading voices on research on the financial burden of cancer. They joined the podcast to discuss prescription drug coverage in America, problems that cause financial challenges for people with and without insurance, and potential policy solutions.

Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and an Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research at Vanderbilt University.

Robin Yabroff, PhD, is the Scientific Vice President of Health Services Research in the Surveillance and Health Equity Science team at the American Cancer Society.

*Yabroff, K.R., Zhao, J., Han, X. et al. Prevalence and Correlates of Medical Financial Hardship in the USA. J GEN INTERN MED 34, 1494–1502 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-05002-w

2:12 – Pain points in prescription drug coverage for Americans – for infusion therapies…

7:39 – …and for orally administered therapies

12:24 – Why it can be hard to predict financial toxicity

13:48 – An example that hits close to home – a metastatic breast cancer patient with Medicare Advantage

17:33 – The financial implications of being diagnosed with cancer when young…of paying for cancer therapies when retired and on a fixed income…and of dealing with the costs of chronic illness

22:42 – Solutions!

“The most obvious one to me is fixing the Medicare Part D policy to limit total out-of-pocket spending…”

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2027580

25:34 – Ways to reduce the burden of high deductible plans

27:54 – “Despite how dire the situation you describe is, it’s actually worse.”

How new advances in treatment will worsen cancer disparities unless we take action

29:30 – Evidence showing that Medicaid expansion helps, but “making care affordable is going to take a lot more than Medicaid expansion”

31:11 – “We’ve got to stop paying for the stuff that doesn’t work if we want to have better coverage for the stuff that does work.”

37:04 – Why cancer prevention strategies are key

39:00 – Advice for newly diagnosed cancer patients and their families for dealing with the financial cost of cancer

The St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants, and the American Cancer Society, a health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer, formed a partnership in 2019 to fund grants that will accelerate childhood cancer research with the goals of understanding and discovering new treatment options and improving care and survival in children with cancer.

Kathleen Ruddy, St. Baldrick’s Foundation CEO, joined the podcast to talk through the goals of this unique partnership. “Why do some patients respond better than others to a particular treatment? Why does one treatment cause more late effects than another? What else can we learn to speed up progress, to cure more children, more effectively, and less harshly?”

Then two of the grantees who have been funded through the partnership talked about what they hope to accomplish.

Yael P. Mossé, MD, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Neuroblastoma Developmental Therapeutics Program, as well as a pediatric oncologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Mossé’s grant is focused on improving patient outcomes for ALK mutant neuroblastoma through precision molecular targeting.

E. Anders Kolb, MD, is Vice Chairman for Research and Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, as well as Director of the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. Dr. Kolb’s study aims to validate the detection of novel biomarkers for the Pediatric Acute Leukemia (PedAL) Initiative Sub-trials.

0:00 – Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of St. Baldrick’s Foundation

10:25 – Yael P. Mossé, MD, and E. Anders Kolb, MD

11:29 – Drs. Mossé and Kolb on why, “in pediatric cancer care, clinical trial participation is the standard of care”

13:31 – Dr. Mossé on how her team is “bringing the science to the patient” to learn how children with neuroblastoma respond (or don’t respond) to treatments

15:57 – Dr. Kolb on why it’s so important, and challenging, to bring precision medicine approaches to childhood cancer treatment

18:37 –Dr. Mossé explains the goal “to bring the science to the clinical trials in real time and not for there to be a lag”

21:38 – Dr. Kolb highlights how revolutionary it is for Dr. Mossé to change a clinical trial based on data emerging in the lab

23:26 – Dr. Kolb explains how “the AML that kids get is nothing like the AML that older adults get” and why this matters for drug development

27:43 – “We as pediatricians are taught early on,” notes Dr. Mossé, “that kids are not small adults, and it really is the same for pediatric cancer.”

30:17 – Dr. Kolb on the inspiration he drew from an initiative by St. Baldrick’s Foundation called Project:EveryChild, and describes his new study: “what we hope is that we will be as successful in relapse as we have been in newly diagnosed AML”

32:25 – Dr. Mossé on the value of collecting tissue over time, including at relapse, and how a major part of her new study is using liquid biopsies to collect samples in a less invasive way

34:43 – Dr. Kolb on the impact of this funding: “If we’re successful, we’re going to be able to rapidly screen for relevant biomarkers and we’re going to be able to enroll kids in the therapy that has the highest potential to provide benefit.”

37:46 – Dr. Mossé describes how this funding will support her research: “My hope and my expectation is to make a really big difference for a small subset of patients. I think that’s where cancer biology has turned now—one disease is not defined by its histology; it’s defined by its underlying molecular biology.”

40:29 – A message they’d like to share with children going through cancer treatment and with their parents and families

The St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest charitable funder of childhood cancer research grants, and the American Cancer Society, a health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer, formed a partnership in 2019 to fund grants that will accelerate childhood cancer research with the goals of understanding and discovering new treatment options and improving care and survival in children with cancer.

Kathleen Ruddy, St. Baldrick’s Foundation CEO, joined the podcast to talk through the goals of this unique partnership. “Why do some patients respond better than others to a particular treatment? Why does one treatment cause more late effects than another? What else can we learn to speed up progress, to cure more children, more effectively, and less harshly?”

Then two of the grantees who have been funded through the partnership talked about what they hope to accomplish.

Yael P. Mossé, MD, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Neuroblastoma Developmental Therapeutics Program, as well as a pediatric oncologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Mossé’s grant is focused on improving patient outcomes for ALK mutant neuroblastoma through precision molecular targeting.

E. Anders Kolb, MD, is Vice Chairman for Research and Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, as well as Director of the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. Dr. Kolb’s study aims to validate the detection of novel biomarkers for the Pediatric Acute Leukemia (PedAL) Initiative Sub-trials.

0:00 – Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of St. Baldrick’s Foundation

10:25 – Yael P. Mossé, MD, and E. Anders Kolb, MD

11:29 – Drs. Mossé and Kolb on why, “in pediatric cancer care, clinical trial participation is the standard of care”

13:31 – Dr. Mossé on how her team is “bringing the science to the patient” to learn how children with neuroblastoma respond (or don’t respond) to treatments

15:57 – Dr. Kolb on why it’s so important, and challenging, to bring precision medicine approaches to childhood cancer treatment

18:37 –Dr. Mossé explains the goal “to bring the science to the clinical trials in real time and not for there to be a lag”

21:38 – Dr. Kolb highlights how revolutionary it is for Dr. Mossé to change a clinical trial based on data emerging in the lab

23:26 – Dr. Kolb explains how “the AML that kids get is nothing like the AML that older adults get” and why this matters for drug development

27:43 – “We as pediatricians are taught early on,” notes Dr. Mossé, “that kids are not small adults, and it really is the same for pediatric cancer.”

30:17 – Dr. Kolb on the inspiration he drew from an initiative by St. Baldrick’s Foundation called Project:EveryChild, and describes his new study: “what we hope is that we will be as successful in relapse as we have been in newly diagnosed AML”

32:25 – Dr. Mossé on the value of collecting tissue over time, including at relapse, and how a major part of her new study is using liquid biopsies to collect samples in a less invasive way

34:43 – Dr. Kolb on the impact of this funding: “If we’re successful, we’re going to be able to rapidly screen for relevant biomarkers and we’re going to be able to enroll kids in the therapy that has the highest potential to provide benefit.”

37:46 – Dr. Mossé describes how this funding will support her research: “My hope and my expectation is to make a really big difference for a small subset of patients. I think that’s where cancer biology has turned now—one disease is not defined by its histology; it’s defined by its underlying molecular biology.”

40:29 – A message they’d like to share with children going through cancer treatment and with their parents and families

A new publication by six current and former American Cancer Society grantees describes the challenges faced by early-career investigators as a result of the pandemic and offers recommendations “to help institutions and individuals develop effective strategies to promote success and career advancement.”

They joined the TheoryLab podcast to talk about key takeaways from their article, which “highlights the aftermath of the pandemic on work–life balance, promotion, tenure, funding, networking, and mentoring, and make recommendations that can help remediate these problems.”

“Overstretched and overlooked: solving challenges faced by early-career investigators after the pandemic” was published in the journal Trends in Cancer: (https://www.cell.com/trends/cancer/fulltext/S2405-8033(21)00158-8)

3:41 – Brock Humphries, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan.

Priscilla Hwang, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Aga Kendrick, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Diego Medical Center.

Rajan Kulkarni, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at Oregon Health and Science University.

Rachel Pozzar, PhD, is a nurse scientist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Rebeca San Martin, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

5:10 – What does it mean to be an “early-stage cancer researcher?”

9:56 – The unique challenges faced by early-career scientists

15:01 – How the American Cancer Society encouraged a conversation about how to surmount these challenges

16:33 – Some of the most striking things they learned from each other

22:47 – Productivity issues faced by early-stage researchers

24:19 – How cancer research labs have functioned during the pandemic

29:35 – How the pandemic has impacted the tenure clock for clinician scientists

34:21 – Ways to promote mental health among early-career investigators

37:36 – Some concluding thoughts about improving the environment for early-stage cancer researchers

40:26 – Their message for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

A new publication by six current and former American Cancer Society grantees describes the challenges faced by early-career investigators as a result of the pandemic and offers recommendations “to help institutions and individuals develop effective strategies to promote success and career advancement.”

They joined the TheoryLab podcast to talk about key takeaways from their article, which “highlights the aftermath of the pandemic on work–life balance, promotion, tenure, funding, networking, and mentoring, and make recommendations that can help remediate these problems.”

“Overstretched and overlooked: solving challenges faced by early-career investigators after the pandemic” was published in the journal Trends in Cancer: (https://www.cell.com/trends/cancer/fulltext/S2405-8033(21)00158-8)

3:41 – Brock Humphries, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan.

Priscilla Hwang, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Aga Kendrick, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Diego Medical Center.

Rajan Kulkarni, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at Oregon Health and Science University.

Rachel Pozzar, PhD, is a nurse scientist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Rebeca San Martin, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

5:10 – What does it mean to be an “early-stage cancer researcher?”

9:56 – The unique challenges faced by early-career scientists

15:01 – How the American Cancer Society encouraged a conversation about how to surmount these challenges

16:33 – Some of the most striking things they learned from each other

22:47 – Productivity issues faced by early-stage researchers

24:19 – How cancer research labs have functioned during the pandemic

29:35 – How the pandemic has impacted the tenure clock for clinician scientists

34:21 – Ways to promote mental health among early-career investigators

37:36 – Some concluding thoughts about improving the environment for early-stage cancer researchers

40:26 – Their message for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers

Two American Cancer Society grantees—one with a recent publication on the early mechanisms of lung cancer initiation, the other with a new study out on the development of melanoma resistance during the earliest phases of treatment—joined the podcast for a conversation about catching the problem early.

This conversation is geared for a scientific audience, until the last few minutes.

Sabrina Spencer, PhD, is Associate Professor of Biochemistry at University of Colorado, Boulder. She recently published a study in Nature Communications on “Melanoma subpopulations that rapidly escape MAPK pathway inhibition incur DNA damage and rely on stress signaling:” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-21549-x?elqTrackId=2842c2f36cc243139afc4151f4f48ee6.

Xaralabos (Bob) Varelas, PhD, is Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine. He recently published work in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America titled, “Aberrant epithelial polarity cues drive the development of precancerous airway lesions:” https://www.pnas.org/content/118/18/e2019282118.

1:08 – Dr. Varelas on his recent study, which offered insights into mechanisms that drive the onset of lung squamous cell carcinomas

4:20 – Dr. Spencer asks clarifying questions about how they disrupted the polarity…

5:08 – …and whether the Crumbs3 mutation occurs in patients or was a way to initiate the system

7:56 – A provocative question from Dr. Spencer: “would that mean that a precancerous lesion would be a candidate for treatment with some of these clinically approved drugs?”

9:25 – “Can you connect increased ERBB signaling to actual increased cell cycling?”

10:48 – Dr. Spencer talks about her interest in the origin of drug resistance in cancer and her recent paper, which focused on melanoma

20:15 – Dr. Varelas asks how broadly applicable these findings are to other cancers

22:10 – “Why do you think some of the cells escape? Is there an underlying difference in the cells to begin with? Or are some cells randomly taking on some kind of adaptive mechanism?”

28:11 – The impact of American Cancer Society funding on their research