Stanley Liauw

About Stanley Liauw

Statins are cholesterol-lowering medications used widely to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and related death. There is mounting interest in the potential anti-cancer effects of statins if used in new ways. Statin use has been found to improve some cancer outcomes when used alone or in conjunction with traditional cancer therapies. An unbiased analysis of clinical study outcomes of men with various risk categories of prostate cancer treated with radiation therapy at the University of Chicago demonstrated a higher prevalence of disease-free survival for men who were on statins during treatment. This project will test the hypothesis that statins can increase the sensitivity of patients with prostate cancer to the beneficial effects of radiotherapy. Dr. Liauw will review multi-institutional clinical outcomes data to substantiate initial clinical results indicating that statins improve prostate radiotherapy. The project will also conduct laboratory experiments to understand the mechanism of the interaction between statins and radiotherapy at the tumor, cellular, and molecular levels, and their relationship with the lipid metabolism network and hormonal axis. These experiments may identify a new therapeutic regimen for prostate cancer and identify candidate genes for statin-mediated radiosensitization.