Hui-Zi Chen, MD, PhD

Research Project:
Why is Small Cell Lung Cancer So Aggressive?

Grant Awarded:

Lung Cancer Discovery Award

Research Topics:

biomarkers
combination therapies experimental therapeutics

Research Disease:

lung cancer

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a type of lung cancer that is exceedingly difficult to treat. The five-year overall survival of patients diagnosed with this cancer is estimated to be approximately 7%. For almost 40 years, there were no new therapies approved for SCLC, for either newly diagnosed patients or those who have relapsed. More research is needed to understand why SCLC is so biologically aggressive in order to develop new treatments. This proposal will focus on a subset of SCLC patients whose tumors have mutations in a gene called KMT2D, which has important functions in controlling the 'epigenome' of cells. Epigenome is a collection of reversible chemical modifications to DNA or histone proteins that can turn genes on or off. Our research will identify which gene pathways are impacted by KMT2D mutations in SCLC and whether they may be targeted by existing therapies or spur the development of new drugs.

Page last updated: October 29, 2025

Hui-Zi Chen, MD, PhD

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