Christine Messineo Annunziata, MD, PhD
National Cancer Institute
Investigation of Genetic Alterations Promoting NF-kB in ovarian cancer
Nuclear Factor kappa B (NF-kB) is a family of proteins that regulate the levels of genes involved in cell growth and survival and are present in many different types of cells. Dr. Annunziata’s research completed under a MRC Scientific Scholar Award found that NF-kB signaling was active in a defined group of ovarian cancer and importantly these cancer cells stopped growing when treated with a drug that blocked NF-kB activity. This study will test the hypothesis that NF-kB activity in ovarian cancer is caused by changes in key NF-kB regulator proteins.