UNC Lineberger’s Antonio Amelio, PhD, assistant professor in the UNC Adams School of Dentistry, was co-corresponding author of a paper published in Scientific Reports along with Katsuhiro Uzawa of Chiba University in Japan. In the study, researchers used gene expression profiling and molecular validation to explore alternative mechanisms driving resistance to the drug cetuximab in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
They found that expression of a gene called uPAR, or a urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, plays a “critical” role in acquired resistance to cetuximab, and that combination therapy with resveratrol may provide an attractive means for treating these patients.