September 2002

A New Lab for Biliary Tract Cancers at Johns Hopkins

Overview  | Research  | People | Support our Research

Biliary tract cancers encompass cancers of the gallbladder and bile ducts. The diagnosis of biliary tract cancers is often difficult since tumors may reach a large size before symptoms are present, and serum markers are currently not available for screening. In addition, there is no "gene test" to determine who is at risk for these cancers. Therefore, in order to fight these cancers, we need to understand the biology of these tumors better and use this knowledge to develop new methods for screening, early detection, and treatment for patients suffering from this disease.

The goal of our lab is to identify genes and proteins that are abnormally expressed in biliary tract cancers. Once we have identified these "candidate genes" that are responsible for transforming normal bile duct cells into cancer cells, we can use this information to determine how we can prevent biliary cancers, and identify new strategies for diagnosis and treatment.

For example, certain subgroups of individuals are at high risk for developing biliary cancers; in this country the single most important risk factor is the presence of an uncommon disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis. Patients with this condition have a one in three chance of developing bile duct cancers within 10 years. We plan to use information gained from our molecular studies in biliary cancers to develop novel screening and early detection techniques for this at-risk group of patients.

Research

We are using state-of-the-art "gene chip" technology to study changes in gene expression between normal samples and biliary cancer specimens. Using specialized chips, we can detect genes that are up- or down-regulated in cancer specimens compared to normal. Secondly, we are using biliary cancer cells in tissue culture to manipulate genes in order to identify the functional changes important in biliary tumor cell growth and invasion. Finally, we are growing human biliary tumors in mice (a technique called "xenografting") in order to develop a model where we can test novel treatment strategies for biliary cancer using an animal model.

Our ultimate goal is to utilize the basic knowledge we gain through our molecular studies to develop new methods of screening and treatment for patients with biliary tract cancers. In addition, the findings from biliary tract cancer studies may help people with other cancers, since often the pathways of tumor development are often similar between different cancer types.

People

Anirban Maitra, MD is the Principal Investigator of the new biliary tract cancer lab and an Instructor of Pathology and Genetic Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Maitra graduated from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India. He completed his residency and fellowship training in Anatomic Pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, followed by a fellowship in Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Maitra has authored numerous papers in the field of pancreatic and biliary cancer research, and is an Associate Editor for the peer-reviewed journal Current Molecular Medicine.

Donna Hansel, MD/PhD is a fellow in the division of Gastrointestinal Pathology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Hansel received her MD/PhD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and has trained in anatomic pathology at the Josephine Nefkins Instituut, Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Dr. Hansel is interested a career in basic research in gastrointestinal malignancies.

Ayman Rahman, BA is the research assistant for the new biliary tract cancer lab and is responsible for harvesting tissue for creating biliary tumor xenografts. He received his degree in biology from the University of Virginia. Ayman is an expert in immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization techniques.

Pedram Argani, MD is an Assistant Professor of Pathology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an attending pathologist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Argani is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and received his pathology training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He also completed fellowships in Oncologic Pathology and Molecular Pathology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Dr. Argani is Director of the Immunopathology Laboratory of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He has a special diagnostic interest in biliary cancer pathology. He has created the first biliary cancer tissue microarrays, which facilitates the high-throughput molecular analysis of abnormal proteins expressed by biliary cancers. He has also published on biliary tract cancers in the internationally-recognized journal Cancer.
Connie Knapik provides assistance with manuscript preparation and lab organization.

Support

Since the molecular biology of biliary cancers has been studied for only a short period of time, there is little organized funding available to support innovative research in this area. In order to move forward in our understanding of these cancers, we need support from many arenas, including both federal funding and private donations. You can make a difference with your contribution to this cause! If you would like to contribute to our understanding of biliary tract cancers, please address your donations to:

Biliary Cancer Research
c/o Dr. Pedram Argani
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Weinberg Building/Room 2242
401 North Broadway
Baltimore, MD 21231-2410