Early Detection & Novel Theraputics for Thoracic Malignancies
Principal Investigator: Johannes R. Kratz, MD
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Early detection is critical to effective treatment. The Kratz Lab, a core research lab in the Thoracic Oncology Program, is focused on elucidating diagnostic biomarkers and developing novel targeted therapies for treatment of lung cancer, mesothelioma and esophageal cancer.
Using the latest DNA / RNA sequencing and gene expression techniques combined with a bioinformatics-driven systems biology approach, the Kratz lab is comparing the different features of low- vs. high-risk early-stage lung cancer in order to gain a better understanding of the genetic nature of high-risk stage I lung cancer. The lab also utilizes cutting-edge immunological profiling techniques to investigate immune responses generated by certain patients that nurture high-risk disease.
We are focusing on early-stage thoracic malignancies for three reasons.
- Early- stage tumors are high-yield research subjects as they are more homogenous and less complex than late-stage tumors.
- Patients with early-stage but high-risk disease are more likely to be cured by targeted interventions than patients with regional or metastatic late-stage disease.
- Despite their deadly nature, very few clinician-scientists target early-stage thoracic malignancies. Most interventions and clinical trials are designed for patients with late-stage disease, leaving a very large underserved population of patients with early-stage, yet deadly disease.