University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center researchers secure prestigious NCI R01 grant to advance mesothelioma research
July 2, 2024
Study ‘may change how mesothelioma patients are diagnosed and treated,’ appreciative survivor attests
University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center researchers Haining Yang, Ph.D., and Michele Carbone, M.D., Ph.D., in collaboration with Taylor Ripley, Ph.D., a thoracic surgeon at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, have received a National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01 grant for their work on mesothelioma. This highly competitive grant, which amounts to $2.5 million, with more than $1 million in indirect cost-benefit to the University of Hawaiʻi, is awarded to only 9% of applicants.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer that primarily affects the thin tissue lining of the chest and abdomen. It results in around 3,200 deaths per year in the U.S. It is often caused by exposure to asbestos. In addition there is a familiar form of mesothelioma that is caused by inherited genetic mutations of BAP1, that was discovered by Drs. Carbone and Yang. In Hawaiʻi, there are about ten cases of mesothelioma per year.
Dr. Suellen Crano, a mesothelioma survivor for over two decades, has participated in Yang and Carbone’s research and attests to its importance. Crano, a California resident, began her journey with the disease in 1998, when she sought treatment for an ear infection and her general practitioner saw that she was very sick. After undergoing several negative tests she was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma.
Crano first met Dr. Carbone at a Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation conference, and her participation in his team's research has since led to some important discoveries about this rare disease. "Drs. Carbone and Yang are constantly searching for breakthroughs, like the one they recently made about a rare genetic mutation that I have. Their study may change how mesothelioma patients are diagnosed and treated," Crano said
"Their work is so important because they strive to answer many questions about mesothelioma, which is not a common disease and is poorly understood by most of us who live with it."
Drs. Yang and Carbone’s team has uncovered the mechanisms of mesothelioma, including how asbestos causes the disease and identifying the "BAP1 cancer syndrome," which causes a less aggressive type of mesothelioma that responds to therapy. With this grant, the team aims to translate their discoveries into treatments that can improve outcomes for mesothelioma patients. They will target molecular mechanisms to extend patient survival and save lives.
Considered an “orphan disease” by the U.S. Congress due to limited pharmaceutical interest, mesothelioma research and improvement is mainly based on federal funding or donations from not-for-profit organizations and private philanthropy. The team's success in securing the largest amount of federal funding for mesothelioma during the course of the past 20 years has profoundly impacted the lives of mesothelioma patients, particularly those affected by familial genetically related mesothelioma.
"We have made an impact in the lives of many people around the world, including over 100 families we are following in the U.S. and abroad who are affected by familial genetically related mesothelioma,” said Dr. Yang, who moved to Hawaiʻi in 2006 to work at the forefront of cancer research. “Recently, the NCI has opened two clinical trials in which we are enrolling our patients for early detection and surgical removal of mesothelioma and other early cancer lesions, and we are saving many lives.”
Carbone, a former director of the UH Cancer Center, added: “We have been very fortunate to see our research progress and make an impact on people's lives. Almost every morning before coming to work, I spend at least one hour speaking to patients worldwide. We are very proud of what we are doing. Our future research efforts will focus on advancing novel therapeutic strategies for mesothelioma and beyond, hoping to figure out how to make all patients capable of fighting the growth of mesothelioma.”
