2012 Ann and Sol Schreiber Mentored Investigator Award Recipient — Bin Guan, PhD
Project Summary
Ovarian clear cell carcinoma is a type of highly aggressive cancer that is frequently associated with endometriosis. Even detected at earlier stages and tumor mass was removed completely by surgery, its prognosis is still poor due to chemoresistance and the presence of early micrometastasis. To identify genetic markers for this deadly disease, deep sequencing of ovarian clear cell carcinoma genome has led to the identification of inactivating mutations in the ARID1A gene in about half of ovarian clear cell carcinomas. Tumor suppressor genes act as brakes in normal cells, however, when they are inactivated by mutations, it can lead to un-controlled tumor growth. Dr. Guan will study the biological functions of tumor suppressor ARID1A and its mechanism in tumor development. Furthermore, he is developing new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches by targeting ARID1A related pathways to combat this devastating disease.