Last Updated: 01/23/12
University of Kentucky GI SPORE
B. Mark Evers, MD
Director, Markey Cancer Center
UK SPORE Principal Investigator
Markey Cancer Center
800 Rose Street
CC140 Roach Building
Lexington, KY 40536
Tel: (859) 323-6556
Fax: (859) 323-2074
Email: mark.evers@uky.edu
Website: https://sims.uky.edu/groups/sims/
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. When localized to the mucosa and submucosa of the bowel wall (Stage I), the five year survival approaches 100%; however, metastasis to lymph nodes (Stage III) results in a precipitous decrease in five year survival and systemic metastasis to the liver (ie, Stage IV) is associated with a five year survival that is less than 5%. The goal of one SPORE project is to develop more selected therapies for colorectal cancer progression and metastasis based on a systematic analysis of colorectal cancers, tumor stroma and surrounding mucosa for expression of certain components associated with the growth and progression of colorectal cancer.
Liver cancer is one of the most rapidly increasing types of cancers in the United States, reflecting an increased prevalence and risk of liver cancer in persons with chronic hepatitis C. Another SPORE project seeks a better understanding of the interaction of hepatitis C virus (HCV) proteins with important regulators of cell proliferation and the role of such interactions in liver cancer caused by HCV infection.
The UK SPORE originally received P20 funding and has submitted a renewal to receive full P50 funding. UK SPORE projects focus on colon and liver cancer and are supported by three cores: Administrative, Biospecimen Procurement and Analysis, and Biostatistics.
Project 1 (renewal) is focused on carcinogenic metals, colorectal neoplasia risk and progression in Appalachia. The leaders for this project are: Mark Dignan, Li Li (Case Western Reserve University), and Xianglin Shi.
Project 2 (P20 and renewal) is focused on hepatitis C and tumor suppressors in hepatocellular carcinoma. This project is led by Stanley Lemon (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).
Project 3 (renewal) is focused on targeting WNT signaling in colorectal cancers with novel derivatives of natural products. Project leaders are: B. Mark Evers, Chunming Liu, and David Watt.
Project 4 (P20 and renewal) is focused on targeted inhibition of PI3K pathway components as novel treatment of colorectal cancers. B. Mark Evers leads this project.
