Colin Kruse getting award at Sigma Xi conference.
Graduate student Colin Kruse won best presentation for a graduate student in the Molecular Biology division at the Sigma Xi annual meeting.
The Sigma Xi meeting on Big Data and the Future of Research, was held in San Francisco.
Kruse’s presentation was on “Understanding Tumor Gene Expression Landscapes: New Treatment Paradigms for Cancer.” His co-authors are Reeto Basu, Alison Brittain, Yanrong Qian, Will Kruse, and John J. Kopchick, all from Ohio University. Kruse is a graduate student in Environmental & Plant Biology and the Molecular and Cellular Biology programs.
Abstract: The role of growth hormone (GH) and IGF1 in cancer progression has been a topic of research for well over a decade. Previous literature indicates that GH activity correlates with negative outcomes in various cancers, though this relationship is still under debate. To determine the nature of GH’s impact on cancer, 6,940 RNAseq experiments from 16 distinct cancer types were segregated by GH receptor (GHR) and IGF1 expression to identify cancer-associated genes and survival characteristics in relation to the GH-IGF1 axis. Here we present the results of the analysis of skin cutaneous melanoma gene expression experiments housed in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Mortality, and various pathways effecting cancer virulence (e.g. EMT, P53, DNA repair) are negatively impacted by GHR levels. Modulating growth hormone has potential to decrease the rate of mortality in patients with melanomas. We can feasibly increase the success of cancer therapies and the lifespan of patients with melanomas exhibiting high GH signaling activity. Clinical studies to determine the efficacy of supplemental Pegvisomant treatment in cancer therapy could yield new and enhanced therapies.
Colin Kruse presents his research at Sigma Xi conference.
Comments