Sandra Orsulic, PhD
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Determinants of Drug Sensitivity in BRCA Deficient Cells: The Role of TUBB4 in Resistance to Paclitaxel
Currently, post-operative chemotherapy for patients with sporadic and BRCA-associated ovarian cancers includes treatment with taxanes and platinum. However, there is an indication that patients with BRCA-associated cancers respond less favorably to taxanes. Dr. Orsulic has identified that a target of taxanes, TUBB4, is upregulated in BRCA1-deficient cells. She and her team will test the hypothesis that TUBB4 plays a role in modulating cell chemosensitivity to paclitaxel. The results of this project will impact the use of taxanes as standard of care for patients with advanced ovarian cancer and allow for the better identification of patients who are less likely to benefit from this drug.