Title:
Associate Professor

Institute:
Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Sherbrooke

Department:  
Microbiology & Infectiology

Province:
Quebec

Training:   
Postdoctoral Fellow, Gene therapy program, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, USA
Medical Residency, Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Université de Sherbrooke
FRCPC, Medical Microbiology
MD, Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec
MSc, Microbiology, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec
BSc, Biochemistry, Université Laval, Quebec, Quebec

Research interests:
Regulation of apoptotic pathways in cancer cells; role of the tumor microenvironment in the regulation of the apoptotic cascade

Research Projects

Project title:
The roles of ovarian cancer ascites: a unique tumor microenvironment

Funding period:  
2010-2012

Program:
Operating Grant (Basic Research)

Summary:
Dr. Piché is working to characterize the effects that ovarian cancer ascites, a fluid that accumulates in the peritoneal cavity of women with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Growing evidence suggest that ascites play an active role in the persistence of tumor cells which are responsible for relapse following chemotherapy. Dr. Piché's work has established that a significant proportion of EOC ascites promote drug resistance. Furthermore, patients with ascites that confer drug resistance were more likely to have shorter disease-free intervals. The concept that is emerging from Dr. Piché's work is that EOC ascites constitute a unique tumor microenvironment which mediates drug resistance and is consequently a major contributor to tumor cells persistence following initial chemotherapy. The work proposed here will aim to identify the factors in ascites responsible for protecting tumor cells from the action of drugs and to unfold the tumor cell's machinery activated by ascites. The goal of this work is to identify new biomarkers for early relapse and contribute to the development of novel targeted therapies.

CRS publications:

Lane D, Goncharenko-Khaider N, Rancourt C, Piché A. Ovarian cancer ascites protect from TRAIL-induced cell death through v5 integrin-mediated focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and Akt activation. Oncogene, 2010, 29:3519-3531.

Gonchanreko-Khaider N, Lane D, Rancourt C, Piché A. The inhibition of Bid expression Akt leads to resistance to TRAIL-induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. Oncogene, 2010, 29: 5523-5536.

Lane D, Matte I, Rancourt C, Piché A. The prosurvival activity of ascites against TRAIL is associated with shorter disease-free intervals in patient with ovarian cancer. 2010, J. Ovarian Res., 3: 1-10

Lane D, Robert V, Grondin R, Rancourt C and Piché A. Malignant ascites protect against TRAIL-induced apoptosis by activating the PI3K/Akt in human ovarian carcinoma cells. 2007, International J Cancer, 121:1227-1237

Past CRS projects: 
 
2006 Regulation of death receptor-mediated apoptosis by malignant ascites