Finding differences in cancer cells and normal cells that can be exploited
Cancer drugs that target \u201cthe machinery required for cell division\u201d have been used successfully in clinics for decades. But these drugs have limitations. Many patients develop resistance and the side effects can be severe, because these drugs\u2014in addition to targeting rapidly dividing tumor cells\u2014also kill healthy cells. \n\nDr. Holland\u2019s lab is searching for vulnerabilities in cell division that are unique to cancer cells. And he is building on some of his findings to develop a novel anti-cancer strategy that allows for the specific killing of proliferating tumor cells without affecting healthy dividing cells.\n\nAndrew Holland, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and the Department of Oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He\u2019s also a two-time American Cancer Society grantee. He recently received a Mission Boost Grant, which are designed to support select current and past ACS grantees specifically for the translation of their research to human testing.\n\n2:23 \u2013 On what it was like to get the good news about his new Mission Boost Grant and the importance of funding translational research\n\n5:47 \u2013 A helpful description of cell division and how it goes wrong in cancer\n\n7:44 \u2013 Why drugs that target cell division are effective but have notable limitations \n\n11:06 \u2013 A vulnerability around cell division his lab found in a specific type of breast cancer cell in cancer cells and normal cells that could be targeted\n\n13:15 \u2013 How his lab\u2019s work could lead to more targeted treatments and reduced side effects for breast cancer patients\u2026\n\n15:05 \u2013 \u2026and potentially in other cancer types as well.\n\n16:03 \u2013 On the hope that this could be scratching the surface of therapies that target vulnerabilities in the cell division of cancer cells\n\n23:46 \u2013 A message for those whose lives have been impacted by cancer.