Urology
Our Team
Our Researchers
Guan Wu, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Overview
The long-term goal of Dr. Wu's research is to refine our knowledge of the biology of kidney cancer. Currently, Dr. Wu's laboratory is studying genetic defects in kidney cancer cells and how these defects cause the disease.
The American Cancer Society estimates that in the U.S. in 2008 there will be 54,390 new cases of and 13,010 deaths from kidney and renal pelvis cancer. The majority of people with localized kidney cancer can be treated successfully with kidney removal surgery (nephrectomy). But some do develop a recurrence and metastases (return and spread of cancer) after surgery for disease that was thought to be localized. And about 25% of kidney cancer patients already have metastatic cancer (cancer that has spread) at their initial diagnosis. Generally, neither surgery nor other conventional therapies, such as chemotherapy and radiation, are effective against metastatic kidney cancer. So we urgently need to find new ways to prevent and to treat this disease.
Biologically, there are several different kinds of kidney cancer. Each looks different under a microscope. And each may have its own unique genetic defects, or there may be defects common to all. These defects occur in what are called cancer critical genes, that is, genes that act as either tumor suppressors or tumor promoters. A number of these genes have been identified by studying hereditary kidney cancer.
Genes supply "instructions" to the cells of the body that tell them what to do. For example, some cells become skin, others become hair or muscle. That's because the genes in the cells tell them to manufacture different proteins. These proteins define what the cells are.
Dr. Wu's laboratory has been working on the proteins produced by cancer critical genes. He and his associates are learning how the cellular and biochemical functions of these proteins cause kidney cancer to develop and progress. Usually, several different proteins bind together to form a complex and work as a unit. If one protein in the complex is defective, the complex may fall apart and lose its function, or gain a new function. This drives cancer cell growth. Dr. Wu's laboratory has identified several such complexes by purifying them from kidney cancer cell lines and by using yeast as a human protein carrier. This research is not only extending our understanding of kidney cancer, it also has broader implications for normal cell physiology.
Dr. Wu's laboratory is also analyzing the genetics of human kidney cancer specimens to look into DNA mutations, etc. This research will be combined with the studies done with kidney cancer cell lines. Together, they will help us discover and validate new "tumor markers" (substances produced by the body that can indicate the presence of a specific cancer). This in turn will help us develop new ways to diagnose and treat kidney cancer.
Faculty Title
Assistant Professor, Departments of Urology and Pathology
Education
Beijing Medical University ( Peking University Health Science Center ), M.D., Ph.D., 1989
Special Interests
Identification and characterization of biochemical defects in kidney cancer cells
Contact Information
Department of Urology
University of Rochester Medical Center
601 Elmwood Ave, Box 656
Rochester , New York 14642
Phone: (585) 275-1657
Fax: (585) 273-1068
Email: Guan_Wu@urmc.rochester.edu