Justine Kyi
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Ashley Pearson
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Immunology / Medicine
Program:
Authors: Justine Kyi, Ashley Pearson
Session: Session 1: 9:00 am – 9:50 am
Poster: 34
Abstract
One of the hallmarks of cancer is metastasis. Cancer commonly metastasizes to the liver, and liver metastases are associated with increased mortality; however, whether liver metastasis are associated with cancer progression is unclear. Liver metastases may dysregulate the immune system and impair anti-tumor immunity. We hypothesize that the presence of liver metastasis leads to increased cancer progression. Using a murine model of liver metastasis with cell lines B16F10 (melanoma), 4T1 (breast cancer), and LLC (Lewis lung carcinoma), we assess how liver metastasis affects cancer progression. In this murine model, cancer spontaneously progresses to the lungs, a process we expect would increase in the presence of liver metastasis. To understand the effect of liver metastasis on cancer progression, we compare the number of cancer colony-forming units (CFUs) present in the lungs of mice with and without liver metastasis. Mice with liver metastasis had more CFUs present in the lung than those without liver metastasis, supporting our initial hypothesis. We concluded that the presence of liver metastasis is associated with an increase in cancer progression in our preclinical model. With this information, we can look to explore the link between the immune system and liver metastasis to understand why liver metastasis is associated with cancer progression.
