# Role of MYC Family Members in Driving Chemoresistance in Small Cell Lung Cancer

> **NIH NIH F30** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $33,650

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive, frequently metastatic cancer that accounts for
approximately 35,000 new cases annually in the United States alone. While many patients initially respond well
to cisplatin-based chemotherapy, relapse within months is nearly universal. Relapsed disease is frequently
resistant to chemotherapy, contributing substantially to the poor overall prognosis of SCLC patients. Decades of
study have yet to produce an FDA-approved targeted therapy or a detailed understanding of chemoresistance,
severely limiting treatment options for patients with relapsed disease. However, recent studies and preliminary
data in this proposal suggest that overexpression of MYC family members, such as MYCL and MYCN, may play
a role in SCLC chemoresistance. Therefore, detailed investigation of MYC family member overexpression in
SCLC could lead to meaningful clinical advances. This proposal seeks to determine how increased levels of
MYCL and MYCN contribute to chemoresistance in SCLC tumors. Aim 1 will utilize genetically engineered mouse
models of SCLC, an autochthonous system, to study whether and by what mechanism MYCL or MYCN
overexpression affects SCLC tumor response to cisplatin and etoposide. Aim 2 will seek to confirm and extend
these findings by examining the effect of lentiviral MYCL or MYCN overexpression on response to cisplatin and
etoposide in chemonaive patient derived xenograft human tumor models. These studies will deepen our
understanding of the mechanisms by which SCLC develops and maintains a chemoresistant phenotype.
Ultimately, the results of the experiments in this proposal can inform development of novel therapeutic agents to
successfully target SCLC chemoresistance and alleviate suffering of the tens of thousands of patients with this
disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9955219
- **Project number:** 5F30CA232475-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Eli Grunblatt
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $33,650
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-16 → 2020-12-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9955219

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9955219, Role of MYC Family Members in Driving Chemoresistance in Small Cell Lung Cancer (5F30CA232475-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9955219. Licensed CC0.

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