| Grant ID | RP100421 |
| Awarded On | January 20, 2010 |
| Title | Chemical Probes for Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription (STAT) 3 that Selectively Target Leukemia-Initiating Cells |
| Program | Academic Research |
| Award Mechanism | Individual Investigator |
| Institution/Organization | Baylor College of Medicine |
| Principal Investigator/Program Director | David J Tweardy |
| Cancer Sites | Leukemia |
| Contracted Amount | $1,105,262 |
| Lay Summary |
Improving cancer survival will require development of drugs that target a subset of the cancer cells that are responsible for cancer recurrences referred to as cancer stem cells (CSCs) while at the same time, sparing normal stem cells, particularly stem cells that give rise to the red cells, white cells and platelets that circulate in the blood. Blood stem cells share many features with CSCs; therefore, finding a way to target CSCs while sparing blood stem cells has been difficult. Recently, however, a protein called Stat3 has been shown by us and others to be an important contributor to CSC development and maintenance in many cancers. Notable among these cancers is a form of leukemia called... |