Investigating the mechanisms of pancreatic cancer dormancy
The Carpizo lab is at the forefront of research in cancer dormancy having just recently produced the first mouse model of pancreatic cancer dormancy that mimics the biology of the resected patient (bioRxiv 2020.04.13.037374; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.13.037374). This model recapitulates the early and latent recurrent phenotypes seen in human patients following surgery. We have used novel techniques such as single cell RNAseq and ATACseq to study dormant disseminated tumor cells to study their biology. We have learned that dormancy is a highly plastic cellular state that is governed by epigenetic mechanism as well as by immune related mechanisms. Future studies will focus on these mechanisms. We have created human clinical protocols to isolate disseminated tumor cells from the livers of patients undergoing liver and pancreatic oncologic surgery to validate the findings we see in the mouse model.
Model for pathways and genes needed for metastatic pancreatic cancer dormancy.