PITTSBURGH - Mohammad Haroon Choudry, M.D., surgical oncologist at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has received a $150,000 Changemaker Research Grant from the Appendix Cancer PMP Research Foundation (ACPMP).
The grant supports research focused on improving treatment for appendiceal pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP), a rare cancer in which a thick mucus barrier can prevent chemotherapy from effectively reaching tumor cells.
Choudry's project, "MUC2-Targeted Mucolysis and Heat-Triggered Nanotherapeutic Drug Delivery to Overcome the Mucus Barrier in Appendiceal Pseudomyxoma Peritonei," will evaluate a novel approach that combines targeted mucus-dissolving therapy with heat-activated nanoparticles. The research aims to improve delivery of chemotherapy to cancer cells and advance treatment options for patients with PMP by breaking down the mucus barrier that can limit the effectiveness of standard therapies.
"The mucus barrier is one of the main reasons standard cancer therapies fall short for patients with PMP," said Choudry. "This grant will allow us to test new therapeutics that hopefully remove the mucus barrier so that chemotherapy can effectively attack the cancer cells."
ACPMP established the Changemaker Research Grant to support innovative scientific, clinical, and translational research that has the potential to advance understanding and treatment of appendix cancer and PMP.
