University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center researcher Guan-Yu Xiao, Ph.D., has received a three-year $747,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study how lung cancer metastasizes, or spreads to other parts of the body. 

Xiao’s research focuses on lung adenocarcinoma, a subtype of non-small cell lung cancer and the most common form of lung cancer. Treatment options for metastatic lung adenocarcinoma are limited – many patients do not respond well to available treatments or develop resistance to them over time. 

By giving scientists a better understanding of the cellular processes driving lung cancer metastasis, Xiao’s study could potentially lead to new treatments and may also address the challenge of resistance to current therapies.  

“Findings from this study could open new avenues for treatment that would offer hope for patients whose current therapies have stopped working,” said Xiao, an assistant professor in the UK College of Medicine’s department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology. “The potential impact also extends beyond lung cancer, possibly offering insights for treating a range of cancer types.” 

The new study will build upon Xiao’s previous findings, which show that a process called epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) helps drive metastasis by causing cancer cells to release substances that help them invade nearby tissues and avoid the body’s immune defenses.  

Xiao’s prior research also shows that blocking this release process could be a promising new treatment strategy. His team identified a protein called Rab6A that regulates the process and would play a key role in therapeutic development. 

The NCI grant will allow Xiao to study how Rab6A affects cancer growth and spread by regulating the EMT secretion process. Findings from the mouse study could help scientists develop drugs that target Rab6A or related proteins, potentially leading to new strategies for preventing metastasis in patients with cancer. 

Xiao’s grant is part of the NCI’s Pathway to Independence Award program, which helps promising young scientists establish their research careers. 

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R00CA249048. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.