Plenary Lecture:
“Proteomics to Uncover New Therapeutic Strategies for Cancer”
Professor Forest White , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
Many cancer subtypes have limited therapeutic options beyond chemotherapy, and poor response rates and overall survival statistics. To identify potential therapeutic targets and therapeutic strategies, we have applied functional proteomics to gain insight into activated signaling networks. Application of this approach to chemotherapy resistant triple negative breast cancer (CR-TNBC) identified a therapeutic target and biomarker signature. Modification of our functional proteomics approach has enabled a targeted approach to identify hundreds of signaling nodes in single sections of FFPE-preserved tumor tissues. Beyond signaling, we have also used functional proteomics to interrogate the tumor-immune interface to identify tumor cell surface antigens for targeted immunotherapy in N-Ras and B-Raf driven melanoma, in vitro and in vivo.