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USC PSOC Seminar Series - Dr. Min Yu
Fri, Mar 27, 2015 @ 11:45 AM - 01:00 PM
Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Dr. Min Yu, MD/PhD, USC - Keck School of Medicine
Talk Title: Circulating tumor cells as liquid biopsies for metastasis
Abstract: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), shed from primary and metastatic tumors into blood stream, contain potential rare cancer stem cells or metastasis-initiating cells. We have analyzed characteristics of CTCs in both mouse cancer models and human cancer patients. Previously, we have discovered an important WNT2-TAK1 pathway in promoting pancreatic cancer metastasis via enhanced resistance to anoikis, and demonstrated evidence of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) in CTCs isolated from breast cancer patients. We have recently developed in vitro culture of CTCs, enabling in depth analysis of their molecular properties using next-generation sequencing and pilot drug sensitivity testing. In several CTC lines, inoculation of 20,000 cells into immunodeficient mice was sufficient for tumorigenesis. Thus, patient-derived CTC lines allow detailed interrogation of cancer stem cell properties at single cell level and its derived clonal populations, potentially contributing to the development of targeted therapies against the metastasis initiating cancer stem cells.
Host: USC PSOC - Dr. Mitchell Gross
Location: Clinical Science Center (CSC) - Harkness Auditorium, 2nd Floor
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Rosa Rangel
