Allison Guo
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Kiran Lagisetty
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Department of Surgery / Medicine
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 5 – 3:40pm – 4:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors:
Presenter: 48
Abstract
Neoadjuvant chemoradiation is a standard of care treatment for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) patients prior to resection. A subset of EAC patients develop resistance to treatment. It has been previously discovered that a molecule, IL-6, shows relation to chemoresistance in EAC. To find the target molecule enabling this observed chemoresistance, we are investigating the effect of the molecule IL-8 on cancer cell survival and resistance in response to treatment with the chemotherapy drug Paclitaxel. OE19, OE33, and CP-A cancer cell lines were seeded in a 96-well plate at 2000 cells/well. 24 hours post-seeding, the cells were treated with 1.5nM Paclitaxel in the presence or absence of 2ng/mL IL-6, 2ng/mL IL-8, or 5ng/mL IL-8. Cells were monitored for health/death throughout the entire experiment. On Day 10, the experiment was completed and cell viability was measured using CellTiter Blue Cell Viability Assay. We hoped to find chemoresistance effects associated with the molecule IL-8, when treated with esophageal cancer tissue. Our results show that, when cancer cells are treated with IL-8, only 20% will die, as opposed to the almost 80% when treated with Paclitaxel alone. This is the first time we have seen an IL-8 effect reversing the drug-mediated cell killing. These results provide an image of the tumor microenvironment within esophageal adenocarcinoma. Understanding the components of such immune environments may allow healthcare providers to better understand tumors with varying sensitivities to treatments. Our research would allow healthcare providers to create more targeted and personalized treatment plans for cancer patients.
Biomedical Sciences, Natural/Life Sciences
