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alliedacademies CANCER STEM CELLS AND
ONCOLOGY RESEARCH
11th International Conference on
J u n e 1 1 - 1 3 , 2 0 1 8 | D u b l i n , I r e l a n d
Journal of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics | Volume 3
Page 17
Our lab has been studying basic principles governing generation
of tumor cell heterogeneity via cancer stem cells (CSCs). By
employing prostate cancer (PCa) as a model, we have demonstrated
that PCa cells are not all equal with respect to their tumorigenic and
metastatic potential. Rather, there exist stem cell-like PCa cells that
are mostly undifferentiated (i.e., PSA-/lo), relatively quiescent, and
resistant to clinical therapies including castration. These prostate
CSCs (PCSCs) preferentially express stem cell genes and epigenetic
landmarks, can undergo asymmetric cell division and regenerate
differentiated (PSA+) cells, and become greatly enriched in treatment-
failed tumors (Cell StemCell, 2012; Oncotarget, 2015, 2016; Clin Cancer
Res, 2016). Several tumor-suppressive miRNAs, including miR-34a,
miR-141, and miR-128, potently suppress the PCSC properties and PCa
metastasis (Nat Med, 2011; Cancer Res, 2014; Nat Commun, 2017).
Both PSA- normal human prostate basal/stem cells (Nat Commun,
2016) and PSA-/lo PCSCs express an intrinsic neurogenesis program
that causally regulates their stem/progenitor cell activities. Of clinical
relevance, PCa cell heterogeneity, in particular, AR heterogeneity, has
a great impact on PCa response to current clinical therapeutics (Nat
Commun, In revision). While we are uncovering novel therapeutics
using organoids-based high throughput screening that can specifically
target undifferentiated CSCs, we are already translating some of our
laboratory findings to clinical trials.
Biography
Dean G Tang, PhD, currently Professor and Chair-
man of Department of Pharmacology & Therapeu-
tics at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer
Center (RPCCC) in Buffalo, NY, USA, was trained
as an Oncological Pathologist and received his
PhD at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI, USA) in
1994 Tang pursued a Burroughs-Wellcome senior
post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Martin Raff (MRC
LMCB, UCL, London, UK) studying stem/progenitor
cell development. Tang joined the University of Tex-
as M.D Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) as a fac-
ulty in 2000 In June of 2016, he moved to RPCCC to
head the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeu-
tics. Tang has made many contributions to cancer
research, among which the most important is his
pioneering work on identifying, characterizing, and
targeting the prostate cancer stem cells (PCSCs).
His laboratory, since 2002, has been applying nor-
mal stem cell biology knowledge to elucidate the
fundamental biological principles that govern the
generation of tumor cell heterogeneity via CSCs and
epigenetic mechanisms. By focusing on prostate
cancer (PCa), Tang and his colleagues have demon-
strated the presence and revealed many unique bi-
ological, molecular, and tumorigenic properties of
PCSCs. One line of Tang’s laboratory studies is now
undergoing a phase Ib/II clinical trial. Tang has pub-
lished 170 papers with many in top-tier journals and
a current h-index of 65 Tang has won many awards
and is an elected fellow of AAAS. Tang is a passion-
ate educator and has mentored about 20 graduate
students and 40 postdoc fellows and junior faculty.
CANCER STEM CELLS:
ENGINE OF THERAPY
RESISTANCE & SEEDS OF
TUMOR RECURRENCE
Dean G Tang
Roswell Park Cancer Institute, USA
Dean G Tang, J Med Oncl Ther 2018, Volume 3