| Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) is a subtype of lung cancer that accounts for approximately 20% of lung cancers, including those with a mixed histology. BAC occurs more frequently among non-smokers, women and Asians, so it is likely to be unpreventable. The only potentially curative therapy for BAC is surgical removal. BAC that cannot be treated surgically has historically been considered to be resistant to chemotherapy. Therefore, it is important to search for novel ways to kill BAC and increase its sensitivity to chemotherapy, especially in late stages of the disease. We have found that 76% of 59 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue samples and 6/7 BAC samples expressed the stem cell marker, Musashi1 (Msi1), whereas only rare Msi1+ cells were found in normal lung tissue. Therefore, this proposal will address the hypothesis that BAC stem cell survival is dependent on the stem cell regulator, Musashi1.
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