Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Synovial sarcoma is a highly aggressive soft-tissue cancer that predominantly affects adolescents and young adults. This malignancy, which accounts for 10% to 20% of soft-tissues sarcomas in such a young population, has limited sensitivity to conventional chemotherapies and thus a poor survival rate. Synovial sarcomas are characterized by a unique chromosomal abnormality that ultimately dysregulates critical genes via epigenetic modifications. Epigenetic modifications are essentially changes in the control of genetic material that do not alter the genetic code itself. For example, these modifications include the addition or removal of chemical tags on genetic material and change how the genetic material is regulated. In synovial sarcoma, we believe there are abnormal additions and removals of these tags - abnormal epigenetic modifications. The exact mechanism of how this aberrant process occurs in synovial sarcoma is poorly understood and controversial. To shed light on this mystery, it is prudent to examine what these epigenetic differences are and how they transform normal cells into cancer. To study this, I will use synovial sarcoma tissue samples from patients to profile the epigenetic changes that occur in these tumors, look for patterns using computational techniques, and carry out validation studies using mice. By understanding how epigenetic changes drive synovial sarcomas, we hope to guide the use of emerging epigenetic therapeutic agents in the treatment of this deadly disease. Additionally, synovial sarcoma is closely related to a number of other soft-tissue cancers that affect adolescents and young adults. Like synovial sarcoma, these cancers have limited treatment options, leaving numerous young patients in face of high mortality rates. In the long-term, we hope that a better understanding of synovial sarcoma can also reveal novel therapeutic approaches for these related cancers.