Dr. Stanley Hamilton

Associate Member

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Department of Pathology

Research Interests:

• Molecular genetics and genomics of gastrointestinal neoplasia
• Identification of molecular markers for application in screening, surveillance, diagnosis, prognosis, prediction of response and resistance to therapy, and therapeutic targets

Our laboratory research investigates molecular genetics and genomics of gastrointestinal neoplasia with emphasis on translational applications to the management of patients with GI cancer. Our multidisciplinary research activities focus on two main areas: 1) Identification and application of molecular markers for prognosis of gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas and for prediction of response to therapy. 2) The etiology and molecular pathogenesis of colorectal neoplasia.

We study the relationship of molecular markers in tumors to survival of patients in clinical trials. These correlative laboratory studies are directed mainly at colorectal adenocarcinoma. Discovery of new markers is based on application of genomics and molecular genetics to determine the abnormalities in genes and gene expression responsible for the molecular subtypes of colorectal cancers, especially in relation to their biological behavior.

We also carry out molecular pathology studies to identify environmental, especially dietary, factors that can be related to molecular genetic abnormalities in colorectal cancer and its precursors. These investigations include studies of specimens from patients in clinical trials of chemopreventive agents incorporating epidemiologic data and international studies of tumors from patient populations with low rates of colorectal cancer for comparison to the high-incidence population in the United States.

A tutorial in our laboratory will provide experience with genetic analyses with a variety of methodologies, immunohistochemistry and western blots, tissue micro-arrays, and translational studies using human tumor specimens and clinical data.

Selected Publications:

Suehiro Y, Wong CW, Chirieac LR, Kondo Y, Shen L, Webb CR, Chan YW, Chan ASY, Chan TL, Wu T-T, Rashid A, Hamanaka Y, Hinoda Y, Shannon RL, Wang X, Morris J, Issa J-P, Yuen ST, Leung SY, Hamilton SR. Epigenetic-genetic interactions in the APC/WNT, RAS/RAF, and P53 pathways in colorectal carcinoma. Clinical Cancer Research 14:2560-69, 2008.

Earle JS, Luthra R, Romans A, Abraham R, Ensor J, Yao H, Hamilton SR. Association of microRNA expression with microsatellite instability status in colorectal adenocarcinoma. J Mol Diagn 12(4):433-40, 2010.

Bartley AN, Yao H, Barkoh BA, Ivan C, Mishra BM, Rashid A, Calin GA, Luthra R, Hamilton SR. Complex Patterns of Altered MicroRNA Expression during the Adenoma-Adenocarcinoma Sequence for Microsatellite-stable Colorectal Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. e-Pub 10/2011.

Additional Publications

Program Affiliation:

Program in Human and Molecular Genetics