Office of Medical Communications

Brian Cunniff, Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine. in Larner’s Cunniff Laboratory

(SEPTEMBER 18, 2023) Larner’s Cunniff Laboratory, headed by Brian Cunniff, Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, was part of a collaboration that recently shared new preclinical data at the IASLC 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer in Singapore, the (Malaysia) New Sarawak Tribune reported.

The data represented a partnership between RS Oncology and other lead research institutions, including the University of Leicester and the Cunniff Laboratory at the University of Vermont Cancer Center.

Using biphasic mesotheliomas as a model containing both epithelioid and sarcomatoid features, investigators at the University of Leicester conducted a geospatial analysis of patient tissues to explore the molecular signatures associated with the histological regions. The group found that the more aggressive sarcomatoid regions had distinct molecular signatures driving pro-tumor pathways, drug resistance, and increased metastatic potential, using sophisticated spatial analysis tools coupled with machine learning approaches. In collaboration with Cunniff’s lab, the team then evaluated molecular signatures of human biphasic mesothelioma tumor cells following treatment with the irreversible PRX3 inhibitor RSO-021.

This is currently being evaluated in a phase I/II clinical trial in patients with malignant pleural effusion caused by advanced/metastatic solid tumors.