Research summary
Some 30,000 Canadians develop lung cancer each year—and 21,000 people die from the disease annually. To improve survival rates, we need new strategies to increase the efficacy of current therapies. We also need to better understand the mechanisms that control how patients respond to drug treatments.
Dr. Kelsie Thu, Canada Research Chair in Lung Cancer Therapy Response, is determining the mechanisms that drive tumour response to standard lung cancer treatments. Using unbiased clinical and functional genomic approaches in lung tumour models, she and her research team are trying to figure out why some lung cancers are resistant to epidermal growth factor receptor therapy, the standard treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. They are also uncovering the mechanisms that govern tumour response to immune checkpoint inhibitors. Ultimately, their findings will improve the care that lung cancer patients receive in Canada and worldwide.