Project Details
Projekt
The role of the AURORA-A oncogene in tumorigenesis and in the therapy response in colorectal and rectal cancer
Applicant
Professor Dr. Holger Bastians
Subject Area
General and Visceral Surgery
Term
from 2011 to 2015
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 33996666
The AURORA-A oncogene, located on chromosome 20q, is most frequently over-expressed in colorectal and rectal cancer. It encodes for a kinase involved in multiple steps of mitotic cell division and thus contributes to the maintenance of chromosomal stability. The most recent work has indicated that the Aurora-A protein might also be a key modulator of therapy response in human cancer, including colorectal cancer, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The goal of this research proposal is to elucidate the role of Aurora-A in colorectal and rectal tumorigenesis and in the response to clinically relevant therapeutic treatments. In particular, on the basis of our long-standing expertise in investigating the mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance and chromosomal instability, we will investigate how different levels of Aurora-A affect the growth of colorectal and rectal cancer in vitro and in vivo. We aim to define the molecular mechanisms of how different levels of Aurora-A in colorectal and rectal cancer modulate sensitivity toward radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Finally, we will place our results into a context of clinical data by analyzing AURORA-A expression and therapy response in primary rectal cancer samples.
DFG Programme
Clinical Research Units
