Wnt, Notch and Hedgehog Activity in Chemo-Naive Tumors Collected During Staging of Esophageal Cancer Patients

Interrogation of Wnt, Notch, and Hedgehog Activity in Chemonaive Tumors Collected During the Staging Ultrasound Endoscopies of Patients Diagnosed With Esophageal Cancer

Cancer results when undifferentiated cells grow in an uncontrolled manner, crowding out normal cells, causing morbidity and ultimately mortality. the cancer stem cell theory suggests that most tumors undergo a process of differentiation through which a relatively rare cancer stem or progenitor cell (CSC) gives rise to more differentiated populations of cells (including transiently amplifying cells) comprising the bulk of the tumor. As a result of this cellular diversity, one or more cells within the tumor are likely to be resistant to therapy. Among cells resistant to a given therapy, only CSCs can repopulate the tumor. A key feature of this resistant subset of CSCs is that they repopulate a tumor resistant to the original intervention. The cellular programs driving the uncontrolled proliferation of many solid tumors result from aberrant activity of Wnt, Shh, and/or Notch signaling pathways in esc. Thus, therapies that down-regulate the activity of these fundamental pathways in CSCs will be effective in the treatment of cancer. The investigator's research program focuses on the elucidation of signaling mechanisms, control of cellular processes and discovery of small molecules that selectively target Wnt, Shh, and Notch signaling pathways that are fundamental to CSCs. Our preliminary results identified a novel Notch associated protein NACK that functions as a transcriptional co-activator of Notch. Moreover, Nack is expressed in human solid tumors and is required for cell survival and tumor growth in notch -dependent tumor cells.

The investigator's aim is to further interrogate the link between Notch and Nack.

Specific Aims:

• Identify and isolate the cancer stem cell populations from primary chemo naive esophageal tumor samples.
• Interrogate the status of the Notch,( the link between Notch and Nack), Wnt and Hedghog pathways in the chemo naive esophageal tumor as well as in specific cell populations, such as the CSC.
• Determine the degree of cross-talk between these pathways and which of these pathways is essential for the self renewal properties and tumorigenic properties of the esc population.
• Identify critical targets for therapeutic intervention in CSC populations.

Study Overview

• Status: Terminated
• Conditions: Esophageal Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Tumor Biopsy via Ultrasound Endoscopy

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 24

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Miami, Florida, United States, 33136
      • University of Miami

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients diagnosed with esophageal cancer

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients diagnosed with an esophageal cancer and scheduled for a standard of care endoscopic ultrasound.
• Patient must sign a consent to be a participant in this protocol.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients not diagnosed with an esophageal cancer.
• Patients that have undergone a previous staging endoscopic ultrasound.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Patients with Esophageal Cancer; Tumor Biopsy via Ultrasound Endoscopy	Procedure: Tumor Biopsy via Ultrasound Endoscopy; The staging ultrasound endoscopy is performed on patients previously diagnosed with esophageal cancer via diagnostic biopsy. The staging ultrasound identifies affected lymph nodes and depth of tumor to the esophageal wall. The tumor sampling is via a biopsy forcep (one pass to obtain 100 cells).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Percentage of samples with identifiable Notch, Wnt and Hedghog pathways in the chemo naive esophageal tumor as well as in cancer stem cell populations (CSC).	24 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Miami
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Anthony Capobianco, MD, University of Miami

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 5, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 7, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): November 7, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 18, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 18, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): August 20, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 15, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 11, 2019
• Last Verified: January 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Esophageal cancer; Signaling; CSC; Pathway; Wnt; Cancer Stem Cell; Chemo-naive; Hegdehog; Notch
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Digestive System Diseases; Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Gastrointestinal Neoplasms; Digestive System Neoplasms; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Esophageal Diseases; Esophageal Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: 20120959

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No