The American Cancer Society recently joined the LUNGevity Foundation, the leading private provider of lung cancer research funding, to fund three promising lung cancer researchers whose novel approaches may help improve the understanding of how lung cancer develops and could lead to more effective treatments. This first-ever collaboration provides $370,000 in support of Postdoctoral Fellowships, provided in part by a generous estate gift to the Society from Catherine and Timothy Fitzgerald.

Dr. Steven Zielske, a researcher in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan, is one of the researchers whose work is being funded, thanks to both this new fellowship and an earlier ACS grant. With previous experience researching stem cell gene therapy, Dr. Zielske was attracted to the lab at the University of Michigan because of the cancer gene therapy work being done by Dr. Theodore Lawrence, who is now his mentor.

"I’ve gotten more interested in cancer working in this lab because of all the projects going on here," explained Dr. Zielske. "Being exposed to the different people in the Department has exposed me to different aspects of cancer and I think my prior experience can be useful in the area of cancer."

Dr. Zielske’s research project is on mesenchymal stem cell gene therapy. Mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, are adult stem cells that are found in bone marrow. It was recently discovered that these cells are attracted to cancerous tumors in the brain or lungs, a trait that researchers are hoping can be used to treat cancer more effectively.

Dr. Zielske’s work involves modifying MSCs to express an anti-cancer enzyme called cytosine deaminase. Carried by MSCs to the cancerous tumor, this protein converts a non-toxic compound, 5-fluorocytosine, into a therapeutic used in cancer treatment, 5-fluorouracil. In simpler terms, this means the special cells are modified so they can deliver higher concentrations of chemotherapy to lung tumors, shrinking them in size. The advantage to this approach is that stronger concentrations of chemotherapy can be used in a localized area while also minimizing side effects.

In the past year, Dr. Zielske has found that when the lung cancer tumor is exposed to radiation prior to introducing the MSCs, the number of MSCs migrating to the tumor increases. This may serve to improve the efficacy of this approach because as Dr. Zielske says, "The more you get in there, the more likely you’re going to have an effect on tumor size."

By funding groundbreaking research, the American Cancer Society has contributed to many important discoveries that have led to a better understanding of cancer and cancer treatment. For more information on the Society’s research program and funding, visit www.cancer.org/research.

Pictured: Dr. Steven Zielske

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