Richard G. Ellenbogen, MD and Manuel Ferreira, MD, PhD Awarded $75K by the Kuni Foundation

Congratulations to Dr. Ellenbogen and Dr. Ferreira who, along with Dr. Kate Weaver and Dr. Brent Wisse, were awarded a Kuni Foundation research grant in the amount of $75,000 for their project “Predicting Medication-Resistant and Atypical Pituitary Adenomas in Children and Adults Using a Cell-Free DNA Approach.” The research project has the following aims:

  • Growth-hormone secreting PA causing acromegaly: Identification of patients known to have somatostatin-agonist resistant and refractory tumors with rapid regrowth. Validation of cfDNA and tumor tissue genomics against stored samples from patients with acromegaly with somatostatin-agonist sensitive or less aggressive tumor phenotypes.
  • Non-functioning (NF) PA: Identification of patients with rapid tumor regrowth requiring repeat surgical management or targeted radiation therapy. Validation of cfDNA and tumor tissue genomics against stored samples from patients with NF PA with residual tumor tissue post-resection that do not demonstrate rapid regrowth.
  • Prolactin secreting PA (prolactinoma): Identification of patients known to have dopamine-agonist resistant or refractory tumors or rapid tumor growth on serial MRI imaging. Validation of cfDNA and tumor tissue genomics against stored samples from patients with prolactinoma who choose surgical management due to medication intolerance