SUMMARY: UCLA researchers in the Department of Medicine have developed a clinical screening method for early-stage lung cancer utilizing a newly discovered biomarker and subsequently shown that inhibitors of this biomarker result in cancer interception. BACKGROUND: The National Cancer Institute reports that lung cancer accounts for 28% of all cancer deaths and has a 5-year survival rate of 16%, making it the deadliest form of cancer. Lung cancer has a poor prognosis because most lung carcinomas are diagnosed at an advanced or metastatic stage. Thus, techniques to identify lung cancers at an earlier and potentially curable stage are urgently needed. In addition, 80-90% of lung cancer cases can be attributed to smoking, which damages patients’ cardiovascular system and makes surgical or aggressive multimodality therapies unfeasible. Novel therapeutic targets and strategies to noninvasively prevent lung cancer metastasis could therefore revolutionize lung cancer treatment in the clinic. INNOVATION: Researchers at UCLA led by Dr. Claudio Scafoglio have discovered that a specific sodium-dependent glucose transporter, SGLT2, is expressed in the lungs pre-malignancy and in early stage cancers. Through this discovery, a novel approach using a glucose analog probe to image SGLT2 via positron emission tomography (PET) has been shown to successfully detect early lung cancer development in murine models. Additionally, the researchers have demonstrated that specific inhibitors of SGLT2 prevent further growth of pre-malignant and early-stage lung tumors, aiding in cancer interception. Together, a novel clinical screening approach coupled with a new chemopreventative strategy to diagnose and treat lung tumors could advance standards of care and significantly reduce lung cancer mortality rates. POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS: • Early diagnosis of lung cancer • Chemopreventative strategy to stop lung cancer metastasis ADVANTAGES: • Facile to incorporate with current PET imaging technology already used in clinical settings • Specific detection of early stage lung cancer • Technology can help inhibit the metastasis and reoccurrence of lung cancer DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE: The researchers have demonstrated that targeting of SGLT2 successfully aids in the early diagnosis of lung nodules in murine models and prevents their development into invasive cancers. Related Papers (from the inventors only): 1. Scafoglio C, Hirayama BA, Kepe V, Liu J, Ghezzi C, Satyamurthy N, Moatamed NA, Huang J, Koepsell H, Barrio JR, Wright EM. Functional expression of sodium-glucose transporters in cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Jul 28;112(30):E4111-9. 2. Kepe V, Scafoglio C, Liu J, Yong WH, Bergsneider M, Huang SC, Barrio JR, Wright EM. Positron emission tomography of sodium glucose cotransport activity in high grade astrocytomas. J Neurooncol. 2018 Jul;138(3):557-569.