Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
My research is focused on pre-clinical studies and early phase clinical trials evaluating molecular therapeutic agents, including IGF-IR antibody and Chk1 inhibitors, for the treatment of breast cancer. Breast cancer cell lines and xenograft models as well as patients’ specimens are used to evaluate the mechanisms of action of these agents and to develop potential predictors of treatment response. A multi-center phase I/II study of IMC-A12 (ImClone Inc.), an IGF-IR antibody, in combination with temsirolimus in patients with metastatic breast cancer has been approved by NCI/CTEP to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability for the combined targeting of IGF-IR and mTOR. In collaboration with Drs. Helen Piwnica-Worms and Paula Fracasso, we are conducting an exploratory study of UCN-01, a Chk1 inhibitor, in combination with irinotecan in patients with triple negative breast cancer (negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER2 overexpression).