Max Wicha, M.D.
Founding Director of U-M’s Comprehensive Cancer Center
Distinguished Professor of Oncology and Internal Medicine
Finding and Targeting Cancer Stem Cells
Physicians have many ways to kill cancer. They can poison malignant cells with chemotherapy and blast them with radiation. But often the cancer comes back — stronger and more aggressive than before. The reason current therapies don’t always work, according to Max Wicha, is because they don’t kill the most important cells in the tumor. Scientists recently discovered that most types of cancer are driven by specialized cells called cancer stem cells. Wicha wants to develop new therapies that can target and eliminate these cells.
In 2003, Wicha was part of the U-M research team that discovered stem cells in breast cancer — the first cancer stem cells to be found in any human solid tumor. Since then, researchers at the U-M’s Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified stem cells in two of the most deadly types of the disease — pancreatic cancer and head and neck cancer.
The support of the Taubman Research Institute has allowed Wicha’s laboratory to advance its basic studies on cancer stem cells and to launch clinical trials based on its most promising findings. As a result, it is performing some of the first clinical trials in the world designed to target cancer stem cells. Since Wicha has shown that these cells drive tumor growth and metastasis, these novel therapies have the potential to significantly improve the outcome for women with advanced breast cancer.
Furthermore, there is accumulating evidence that similar pathways regulate cancer stem cells in other types of cancer. Thus, the approach and agents that Wicha is developing to target breast cancer stem cells may also prove useful in treating other forms of cancer. His ultimate goal is to initiate additional trials targeting cancer stem cells in other tumor types including bladder, pancreas, lung, ovary, head and neck and brain.
Research Findings:
- Blocking inflammation receptor kills breast cancer stem cells, U-M study finds
- Progress Report, May 2010 (PDF, 100KB)
- The Newest Weapon Against Cancer -- Broccoli
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Taubman Emerging Scholars Program
Request for applications
Applications are being accepted for the Taubman Institute Emerging Scholars Program.
The applicant must be a junior member of the faculty at the University of Michigan; generally, that means holding an assistant professor title. The applicant must have either an M.D. or an M.D./Ph.D. It is required that candidates both conduct basic research and treat patients.
Applicants should submit a two-to-three page research proposal, as well as a current CV. Priority will be given to proposals involving translational research. Please submit material to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . The deadline is May 7, 2012.
Young Friends host festive NYC fundraiser
Reception introduced scholar candidate Dr. Parag Patil
About 125 supporters of cutting-edge medical research mixed socializing and science May 9 at a cocktail party in Manhattan hosted by the Young Friends of the Taubman Institute's New York City chapter.
The event introduced Dr. Parag Patil, a University of Michigan physician-researcher and a prospective Young Friends Emerging Scholar. Here's a clip from Dr. Patil's appearance on the TV program "The Doctors," where he demonstrates how deep-brain stimulation has helped a patient with Parkinson's disease.
Emerging Scholars are early-career clinician-scientists who show great promise in research aimed at new cures or treatments; through the Taubman Institute, donors support them with three-year grants while their labs earn the credentials to win broader funding support.
The Young Friends event, which raised a significant contribution toward the Emerging Scholars program, was held at the ABC Carpet & Home showrooms at 888 Broadway, Attendees enjoyed cocktails, appetizers, a silent auction and a presentation by Dr. Patil. The silent auction included jewelry, fashion items, a Botox consultation and treatment, Morgan Hotel Group rooms and the opportunity to bid on a meeting and photo with former President William Jefferson Clinton.
Taubman Research
Dr. Max Wicha: Some treatments actually increase cancer stem cells
Avastin and Sutent have been found to increase the growth of breast cancer stem cells in mice, according to Taubman Scholar Dr. Max Wicha, director of the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center.
