USC researcher awarded grant to study link between GERD, esophageal cancer

The DeGregorio Family Foundation and the Price Family Foundation have awarded a $175,000 grant to Anisa Shaker, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California for her research on the connection between GERD and esophageal cancer risk.

Anisa Shaker

The risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma — the predominant type of esophageal cancer and the “fastest-growing lethal malignancy” in the West — is nearly eight times as high among patients with symptomatic GERD compared with individuals without GERD, according to a press release. Shaker’s research focuses on how myofibroblast cells control esophageal inflammation, injury and repair, and their connection to esophageal cancer.

“Myofibroblasts can be found throughout the digestive system, including the lining of the esophagus. We believe that they may play an important role in the development of esophageal cancer,” Shaker said in the press release. “This grant will allow us to adapt myofibroblasts from patients with GERD into a 3D model of the esophageal lining, which is where esophageal cancer begins.”

Shaker said she hopes this work will lead to a better understanding of how esophageal cancer develops, which could help contribute to its prevention and treatment.

“Our hope with this grant is to spur collaboration among physician researchers that will advance their research goals and help them secure larger grants,” Lynn Gregorio, president and founder of the DeGregorio Family Foundation, said in the press release.

The foundation focuses on promoting research in esophageal and stomach cancers, and has awarded $2 million in grants since 2006. Recipients have obtained an additional $11 million in grants from the NIH and Star Foundation, according to the press release.