Powel H. Brown, MD, PhD

2007-2008 BCRF Project:
Dr. Brown and his team of collaborators have investigated whether signal transduction inhibitors are useful for the treatment and prevention of breast cancer. These researchers are conducting studies of human breast tumors to identify novel targets for the treatment of estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer. They have identified several signaling molecules that are highly expressed in human estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer and have shown that inhibition of these signaling molecules suppress the growth of breast cancer. With support from BCRF they are also conducting a clinical trial (in collaboration with researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Georgetown University) to test whether a unique signal transduction inhibitor (the dual kinase inhibitor lapatinib) will be effective in treating women with noninvasive breast cancer.

During the last year, Dr. Brown completed protocol development, obtained all the necessary regulatory approvals, and obtained an IND number from the Food and Drug Administration. This protocol is now ready to activate at Baylor and the other sites, and is scheduled to open in July 2007. This clinical trial will determine whether lapatinib will be useful for the treatment of DCIS non-invasive breast cancer. In his new BCRF project, Dr. Brown is using state-of-the-art genomic and proteomic approaches to identify novel signaling molecules responsible for growth of ER-negative breast cancer cells. He is also determining whether these novel signaling molecules can be targeted for the treatment of ER-negative, PR-negative, and Her-2-negative ("triple-negative") breast cancer. These studies will lead to more effective treatments for this aggressive form of breast cancer.

Mid-Year Progress Report:
With support from BCRF, Dr. Brown is conducting a clinical trial to test whether the dual kinase inhibitor lapatinib will treat non-invasive breast cancer in women with ErbB2-postive or EGFR-positive DCIS breast cancer. During the last six months, Dr. Brown and his clinical research team opened this trial at Baylor College of Medicine and at Dana Farber Cancer Institute; the trial is also due to open at three other sites: Georgetown University, Walter Reed Army Hospital, and MD Anderson Cancer Center. Support from BCRF will allow completion of this important trial which will determine whether the oral kinase inhibitor lapatinib will be useful for the treatment of ErbB2/Her2-positive DCIS breast cancer.

In his 2007-2008 BCRF project, Dr. Brown is using state-of-the-art genomic and proteomic approaches to identify novel signaling molecules responsible for growth of ER-negative breast cancer cells. He is also determining whether these novel signaling molecules can be targeted for the treatment of ER-negative, PR-negative, and Her-2-negative ("triple-negative") breast cancer. These studies will lead to more effective treatments for this aggressive form of breast cancer.

Bio:
Dr. Powel Brown is a medical oncologist and physician-scientist specializing in breast cancer treatment and prevention at the Breast Center at Baylor College of Medicine. He is a member of the Departments of Medicine and Molecular and Cellular Biology and is also the leader of the Cancer Prevention Program of the Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Brown's laboratory and clinical efforts are focused on developing more effective ways to prevent breast cancer. In the laboratory, Dr. Brown is discovering how growth factors and hormones induce changes in gene expression that lead to the development of breast cancer. In the clinic he is developing and testing novel strategies for the prevention of breast cancer.

In the laboratory, Brown has successfully identified several signaling pathways that are critical for breast cancer development, and has used novel designer drugs (signal transduction inhibitors) to prevent breast cancer in animals. In the clinic, Dr. Brown has translated these findings to human clinical trials. In his current trials, promising cancer preventive agents are being tested for their ability to suppress the growth of normal and preinvasive breast cancer cells. Those designer drugs that successfully suppress breast cell growth will then be tested in large-scale clinical trials for their ability to prevent breast cancer. Through this work Dr. Brown plans to develop new ways to totally prevent breast cancer.