Sox2 is an oncogenic driver of small cell lung cancer

Although many cancer prognoses have improved in the past fifty years due to advancements in treatments, there has been little to no improvement in therapies for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) which currently has a five-year survival rate of less than 7%. One promising avenue to improve treatment for SCLC is to understand its underlying genetic alterations that drive its formation and growth. One such mutation in SCLC, which appears in many cancers, is of the Rb gene. When mutated, Rb causes hyperproliferation and loss of cellular identity. Normally Rb promotes differentiation by regulating lineage specific transcription factors including regulation of pluripotency factors such as Sox2. However, there is evidence that when certain tissues lose Rb, Sox2 becomes upregulated and promotes oncogenesis. To better understand the relationship between Rb and Sox2 and to uncover new treatments for SCLC we have studied the role of Sox2 in Rb loss initiated tumors by investigating both the tumor initiation in SCLC genetically engineered mouse models, as well as tumor maintenance in SCLC cell lines.