About the Laboratory
The Pediatric Surgical Oncology Laboratory performs cutting-edge clinical and translational / basic science research focusing on pediatric solid tumors. Led by Sanjeev A. Vasudevan, M.D., the lab's research work is focused on finding new cures through cancer modeling, genetic profiling, and preclinical testing of novel targeted agents.
The PSOL collaborates with the Texas Children’s Cancer Center to translate bench top research into tangible therapeutics for children.
The primary focus of the PSOL is high-risk pediatric liver cancer. Hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular carcinoma are the most prevalent liver cancers seen in children, and the incidences of these malignancies are on the rise worldwide. Our primary projects are as follows:
- Harnessing the p53 tumor suppressor pathway to induce cell death in these tumors
- Profiling and targeting the most aggressive cellular populations within liver cancers, including sub-clones of vascular invasion and circulating tumor cells
- Creating the most robust collection of patient-derived cell lines and xenografts of high-risk liver cancer
- Testing other novel targeted therapies to provide pre-clinical data to support new clinical trials for patients with tumors that do not respond to established therapies
- Developing new intraoperative surgical imaging techniques to improve the outcomes of children undergoing cancer surgery
Using this same approaches, our lab also focuses on neuroblastoma and other rare but deadly pediatric cancers.
