THORACIC ONCOLOGY RESEARCH INITIATIVE Millions of people around the U.S. are battling cancer, and millions more are caretakers and loved ones. It’s a burden on nearly every aspect of life, and at this rate, we will all be touched by cancer either as loved ones or patients. Faculty at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus are working to change this future and make the narrative much brighter. We are creating a future in which a cancer diagnosis is no longer a death sentence – where a once-devastating battle with cancer is replaced by targeted therapies that are effective the first time.
Expanded Role for Robert Doebele, MD, PhD
In December 2017, the CU Cancer Center announced an expanded role for worldrenowned physician researcher, Dr. Doebele. He now oversees the CU Cancer Center Thoracic Oncology Research Initiative. For the past decade, Dr. Doebele has expanded lung cancer research programs at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, helping to improve the lives of cancer patients around the world. • Joined CU in 2008 • Director, CU Cancer Center Thoracic Oncology Research Initiative • Co-founder and co-director, University of Colorado Molecular Tumor Board
• Co-PI, University of Colorado Lung Cancer SPORE • His lab is focused on improving therapies for lung cancer patients
Improving Therapies for Lung Cancer Patients
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and the world. At the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, researchers are working to change this narrative by identifing various genetic abnormalities in lung cancer and improving treatment options for patients. This work fuels targeted therapies that attack the cancer at a genetic level, ensuring patients receive the most effective treatment the first time. We have already made significant progress and now understand that cancer is defined by particular abnormalities in genes and cannot be defined by individual organs. Under Dr. Doebele’s direction, the clinical trial for the abnormal gene NTRK1 has proven remarkably successful. This clinical trial started with one biopsy in 2012 that Dr. Doebele was able to use to grow an importable cell line leading to a new drug discovery and clinical trial, LOXO-101. Researchers are hopeful that LOXO-101 will soon lead to an FDA-approved therapy that doctors can prescribe. Our lung cancer team is also working to better understand drug-resistant cancer tumors and to develop treatments for effective alternatives for patients. This research will help physicians prevent cancer from returning.
A Hub of Innovation at CU Anschutz
Over the past several years, the lung cancer team at CU Anschutz has become a national leader in harvesting and incubating cancer models that are used in research labs around the country. Because of our particular expertise, labs at institutions around the world seek to work with us. We are now a major supplier of unique cell lines that are used for research programs with similar goals. Our strength is in our seamless partnership along the entire spectrum of research. We can take ideas from the lab through translational research and into the clinic quicker than ever before. At the same time, we can use our partnership with UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, allowing research to originate in the clinic. This robust research operation allows our physician researchers the ability to provide the very best care and use every lung cancer case as a way to improve the treatments of tomorrow.