Program Leader David M. Jablons, MD

The Thoracic Oncology Program, comprising some 20 member-investigators, focuses on management of thoracic malignancies -- lung cancer, esophageal cancer, chest wall and mediastinal tumors, and pleural tumors including mesothelioma -- as well as on development of innovative clinical trials and novel translational science.

In addition to providing advanced clinical care, the program investigates new treatments and forms of earlier diagnosis for thoracic malignancies through clinical trials under the aegis of the Cancer and Leukemia Group B and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.

Translational research utilizes the resources of an extensive tissue and tumor bank of primary tumors, lymph nodes, serum, peripheral mononuclear cells, normal lung, pleura, sputum, bronchus, and esophagus.

Current research initiatives of the Thoracic Oncology Program include the following:

• molecular biology of non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma with emphasis on gene discovery through differential display and subtraction hybridization techniques in primary tumors, metastases, and cell lines;
• role of methylation in regulatory genes of non-small cell lung cancers as a possible reversible mechanism of carcinogenesis;
• metalloproteinase pathways and novel enzymes as innate elements in tumor metastases;
• role of known and novel angiogenesis factors and developmeant of novel angiogenesis inhibitors and blocking agents in lung cancer and mesothelioma;
• use of potent antigen presenting cells (dendritic cells) for the development of tumor vaccines;
• studying a transgenic mouse model of adenocarcinoma based on a CC10 promoter and SV40 Large T antigen oncogene; role of integrin expression in lung cancers and in transgenic animal models;
• transition of pre-malignant lesions to invasive adenocarcinomas of the lung in murine models, cell lines, and harvested patient tumors using comparative genomic hybridization and differential display techniques;
• role of epithelial growth factors and their receptors in the development of lung cancer; and
• mechanisms of asbestos-induced carcinogenesis and apoptosis in mesothelioma.