Annual Report 2017 | Page 12

Left to right ( back row ): Adrian Franke , Marcus Tius , Ping Fan , Vera Schwarzler , Lorenzo Bisgen , Jiaming Xue , Lorenzo Carparelli , Pietro Bertino , Randall Holcombe ( middle row ): Wen-Ming Chu , Haining Yang , Michelle Matter , Ryuji Yamamoto , Brien Haun , Michael Minaai , Masaki Nasu , Wong Seok Yang , Hideki Furuya , Joe Ramos ( front row ): Ronghui Xu , Chi Ma , Yasutaka Takinishi , Sandra Pastorino , Jasmine Chen , Keisuke Goto , Natalija Glibetic , James Turkson

CANCER BIOLOGY

The program conducts basic cancer research for important discoveries that positively impact cancer incidence and mortality in Hawai ‘ i and the Pacifc . Refecting our geographical location , Cancer Biology has a major emphasis on research of natural products from local endemic species for discoveries that have the potential for clinical application .
BAP1 CANCER SYNDROME
Published in Nature
ANGELA BONONI | DAVID LARSON | KAITLYN VERBRUGGEN | MIKA TANJI | LAURA PELLEGRINI | VALENTINA SIGNORATO FEDERICA OLIVETTO | SANDRA PASTORINO | MASAKI NASU | ANDREA NAPOLITANO | GIOVANNI GAUDINO | PAUL MORRIS GREG SAKAMOTO | HAINING YANG | MICHELE CARBONE
Michele Carbone , MD , PhD , and his team , discovered why people carrying mutations of a gene ( BAP1 ) are much more susceptible to asbestos , sunlight and other environmental carcinogens .
• Cancer cells with a BAP1 gene mutation are resistant to chemotherapy .
• About 20 percent of all cancers have BAP1 mutations .
• The BAP1 gene regulates a channel ( IP3R3 ) inside cells that moves calcium . When the BAP1 gene is mutated or damaged , calcium levels inside the cells decrease . The decrease of calcium makes cells more likely to become malignant when exposed to environmental carcinogens .
Angela Bononi
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