Dr.Sanjay GoelTargeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that targets a cancer’s specific genes, proteins, or the tissue environment that contributes to cancer growth and survival.
But research has shown that not all tumors have the same targets, which means that targeted treatment does not work for every person. Dr. Sanjay Goel of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine put his Conquer Cancer Foundation grant to work to help patients who, because of mutation in the KRAS gene of their colorectal cancer, are ineligible to receive certain targeted therapies.
Dr. Goel’s approach focused on developing a reovirus (RNA virus) which could be used to treat patients with KRAS mutation in their tumors. In the lab, Dr. Goel and his team found synergy between the reovirus and irinotecan, a drug currently used in chemotherapy to treat colorectal cancer (this means that the two agents interacted in such a way as to magnify the effects of the irinotecan).
The second step is an ongoing clinical trial of the reovirus in combination with the standard chemotherapy protocol. Results from this study have the potential to make a big impact for patients. “If the combination is superior to current standards, it clearly could offer a new paradigm of treatment for [patients with KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer],” said Dr. Goel.
Dr. Goel’s first message to Conquer Cancer Foundation donors is “a very warm and heartfelt thank you.” His Conquer Cancer Foundation grant “had a deep and lasting impact on my career,” he says, an impact that is especially important in a funding landscape for researchers that is so challenging that even the most promising and passionate young researchers have a hard time pursuing their lifesaving work.
“The Conquer Cancer Foundation truly is a major player in ensuring that future research-oriented physicians stay put and help mature into future leaders,” said Dr. Goe