Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related death in Canada. There are 2 major subtypes of lung cancer: the more common non-small cell lung cancer and the rarer, but deadlier, small cell lung cancer. Recent advances in lung cancer therapy has led to drugs that are not only effective in non-small cell lung cancer patients, but also well-tolerated, thus improving patient outcomes and well-being. However, after initial treatment with these drugs, a small but significant fraction of patients' tumours become more aggressive, resistant to treatment, and ultimately lethal. A closer look at these non-responsive tumours shows that some have morphed into the more deadly small cell lung cancer. This process is known as small cell transformation and we are interested in understanding how this transformation takes place in order to develop new strategies to treat or prevent this phenomenon. Cells in tumours often experience low levels of oxygen (hypoxia), even in tumours developing in the lungs. Cancer cells are able to adapt to hypoxia, which tends to morph them to be more aggressive and resistant to treatments. This project aims to clarify the role of hypoxia in small cell transformation by exposing cell lines created to mimic patient lung cancers to hypoxia and then evaluating their molecular similarity to small cell lung cancer cells. Our lab also possesses a unique experimental mouse model that naturally develops lung cancer, which we will use to investigate the natural progression towards small cell transformation. Understanding the mechanism underlying the deadly small cell transformation will provide critical information that can lead to the development of new treatment and prevention strategies against a deadly form of lung cancer where all current therapies fail.