FURTHER INFORMATION

The Drew Lab

Angela Drew's Lab
Assistant Professor Angela Drew joined the department in 2004 from the University of Melbourne. The Drew laboratory investigates factors related to ovarian cancer metastasis. Ovarian cancer is an insidious disease with a disproportionately high mortality rate compared with other tumor types. The reasons for this may lie in the late stage of diagnosis, and in the rapid development of chemotherapy resistance for many patients. There are currently large gaps in the available information on the early events in tumor spread and on the capacity for tumor utilization of host mechanisms that facilitate dissemination. The Drew group focuses on inflammation and metalloproteases and their effects on tumor metastasis, in vivo. The role of membrane-associated metalloproteases is currently being investigated through in vitro genetic manipulation of ovarian carcinoma cell lines and patient samples, and subsequent implantation in various mouse metastasis models. While broad spectrum inhibition of metalloproteases did not reduce metastasis in patients in clinical trials, highly specific targeting of individual metalloproteases has shown much promise. The Drew laboratory is focusing specifically on membrane-bound metalloproteases since their earlier work has shown they are influential on ovarian cancer progression. In addition, the laboratory has previously shown that inflammation plays an important role in driving the spread of ovarian tumors, though the mediators are still not known. Dr. Drew’s group is using transgenic mouse approaches to determine the contribution of an inflammatory protein called interleukin-6 (IL-6) and its receptor (IL-6Rα) to the progression of ovarian cancer. Despite being a growth factor for tumor cells, blocking the receptor with an antibody increases metastatic spread. Since both tumor and inflammatory cells produce both IL-6 and the receptor, the contribution of each must be assessed to determine the best means of intervention. An overall goal of the Drew laboratory is to find specific targets that can abrogate the spread of tumors in vivo. The translational direction of this work is greatly enhanced by strong collaborations with UC clinicians with expertise in gynecologic oncology and pathology. This teamwork approach provides great opportunities for viewing metastasis both broadly and specifically as a target for altering tumor prognosis.

Selected Publications:
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