Funded Research
June, 2004: The Sarcoma Foundation of America announced its annual research awards. Among them were three grants we funded totaling $75,000. See the press release for additional information.
Dr. Matt van de Rijn of Stanford University is the recipient of a $25,000 Elizabeth Shriver Memorial Research Award. He is one of the few researchers in the country to use gene chips on sarcomas. He will use the sarcoma cell lines generated by Dr. Fletcher to analyze thousands of genes in these tumors. The technique is called DNA microarray and allows one to put the tumor DNA on a chip containing DNA from essentially all known genes; if the tumor DNA binds, it means that gene is present in the tumor. One can then tell if key genes in the tumor are absent (allowing the tumor to grow unchecked) or abnormal. Once these abnormal genes are found, researchers can attempt to block their effect using various molecules — thus searching for so-called "molecular targets" for new therapies. "Again, the Sarcoma Foundation of America and the Elizabeth Shriver Award will have a significant impact on our knowledge of how sarcomas grow, and on future sarcoma research," Thornton said. "This is the type of study that can lay the groundwork to find the magic bullet, though it will likely take years."
Dr. Frederic Barr of the University of Pennsylvania is also the recipient of a $25,000 Elizabeth Shriver Memorial Research Award. He is well known for his work on gene fusions in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), so he is well familiar with the complex genes in this tumor. Most of the alveolar type of RMS, a childhood tumor, form when two genes are abnormally stuck together (PAX and FKHR genes). For unknown reasons, some alveolar RMS lack this finding and yet still form and grow. "In this grant, Dr. Barr will try to determine how and why some rhabdomyosarcomas do not have the usual gene fusion, which causes abnormal growth," explained Thornton. "Perhaps by learning this, some mysteries of RMS can be unraveled. Often by testing the exceptions to the rule one can learn a great deal and perhaps find another molecular target."
Dr. Lisa Wang of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston is also the recipient of a $25,000 Elizabeth Shriver Memorial Research Award. She had been involved in studying a group of people with a genetic syndrome that results in a certain germ-line mutation in all their normal cells. The gene, called RECQL4, is a DNA helicase (enzyme) that functions to maintain genomic stability. When it is mutated there is genetic instability and an increased risk of osteosarcoma. She will now test whether or not the same mutations are a common feature of all osteosarcomas. If this gene is very common in osteosarcomas, it may then become a target for therapy in the future. "It is possible that this rare genetic syndrome may lead to finding a key gene in this bone tumor, and the Sarcoma Foundation of America and Elizabeth Shriver Award is critical to getting this investigation done and an answer known. Only by following such leads is progress made," said Thornton.