Learning the Language of Cells to Beat Cancer

Human cells are constantly communicating, and some cells, particularly in cancer, are master manipulators, using these communications channels to persuade innocent bystander cells to collude and participate in tumor growth. If science can better understand how these good cells are “flipped,” or induced to go rogue, it would open the door for new treatment options that could save many lives.

Andrew L. Ji, MD, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, is working to better understand cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC)—a skin cancer that is the second most common cancer in the United States and one that causes substantial morbidity, with a considerable risk for metastatic spread and death.

While most cases of cSCC are caught early and cured with excision, this cancer is more aggressive in people who have received organ transplants, with higher rates of recurrence and metastasis. Treatment options are severely limited in these cases. Further, these patients require immunosuppression, which is linked to cSCC aggression, but the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms are poorly understood.

In organ transplant recipients, the risk of developing cSCC is 65-fold higher than in non-transplant individuals, and within these tumors, the risk of developing local recurrence and metastasis is at least doubled due to chronic immunosuppression. Treatment options are limited in advanced cases of cSCC, especially in people with transplanted organs, as immunotherapy can be complicated by the risk of organ rejection.

Dr. Ji has discovered an invasive cSCC subpopulation that communicates with non-malignant cell types in the tumor’s environment. By profiling tumors from organ transplant recipients using cutting-edge single-cell and spatial technologies, Dr. Ji aims to better understand how this harmful subpopulation emerges in the immunosuppressed setting, aided by crosstalk with these neighboring cells. Ultimately, his goal is to prevent the manipulative cancer cells from turning harmless cells into new cancer growths and to improve the treatment of cSCC in both organ transplant recipients and patients with advanced cases in the general population.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation recently named Dr. Ji one of six new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators, awarding him $600,000 over three years to advance his work on understanding cSCC in organ transplant recipients. The recipients of this prestigious award are outstanding early-career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented cancer research.

“I am immensely honored and grateful for this support from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. It will allow us to pursue novel research technologies and approaches to improve our understanding of skin cancer risk and aggression in organ transplant recipients, which I believe will lead to improved treatment strategies for this vulnerable patient population,” said Dr. Ji.

"I am so excited about this very well-deserved recognition with such a prestigious award. Dr. Ji is a rapidly rising star in dermatology and science in general, and I am sure he will make the Damon Runyon Cancer Foundation and us at Mount Sinai proud. In fact, his groundbreaking science and discoveries may translate to novel and better treatments for patients with skin cancers,” said Emma Guttman, MD, PhD, Waldman Professor and Chair, The Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology, Icahn Mount Sinai and Mount Sinai Health System.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.

Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,400 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2023-2024.