Selected publications

• Kramer-Marek G, Gijsen M, Kiesewetter D O, Bennett R, Roxanis I, Zielinski R, Kong A, and Capala J (2012) Potential of PET to Predict the Response to Trastuzumab Treatment in an ErbB2-Positive Human Xenograft Tumor Model. J Nucl Med.

• Waterhouse Benjamin R, Gijsen Merel, Barber Paul R, Tullis Iain DC, Vojnovic Borivoj, and Kong Anthony (2011) Assessment of EGFR/HER2 dimerization by FRET-FLIM utilizing Alexa-conjugated secondary antibodies in relation to targeted therapies in cancers. Oncotarget, 2(9):728-36.

• Gijsen Merel, King Peter, Perera Tim, Parker Peter J, Harris Adrian L, Larijani Banafshe, and Kong Anthony (2010) HER2 Phosphorylation Is Maintained by a PKB Negative Feedback Loop in Response to Anti-HER2 Herceptin in Breast Cancer. PLoS Biol, 8(12):e1000563.

• Kong Anthony, Calleja Veronique, Leboucher Pierre, Harris Adrian, Parker Peter J, and Larijani Banafshe (2008) HER2 oncogenic function escapes EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors via activation of alternative HER receptors in breast cancer cells. PLoS One, 3(8):e2881.

• Kong Anthony, Leboucher Pierre, Leek Russell, Calleja Veronique, Winter Stuart, Harris Adrian, Parker Peter J, and Larijani Banafshe (2006) Prognostic value of an activation state marker for epidermal growth factor receptor in tissue microarrays of head and neck cancer. Cancer Res, 66(5):2834-43.

Anthony Kong

Our lab is interested in HER (ErbB) biology and their inhibitors in relation to cancer treatment. We use a multidisciplinary approach, including FRET, conventional biochemistry and immunohistochemistry in our research. We conduct translational research based on two-way approach: to bring clinical questions to bench research and translate bench findings to clinical trials. The two main aims of our lab are:

1. Understand the mechanisms of resistance to ErbB inhibitors and to find new strategies to overcome resistance to these drugs

   ErbB inhibitors are increasingly used as part of the cancer treatments in multiple cancers However, drug resistance remains a challenge for these drugs. In our lab, we investigate resistance mechanisms of various ErbB inhibitors, including Trastuzumab in HER2 positive and HER2 negative breast cancer, TKIs in breast cancer, cetuximab in triple negative breast cancer as well as cetuximab and TKIs in head and neck cancer. We aim to propose suitable clinical trials to overcome drug resistance based on our preclinical work.

2. Developing new FRET biomarkers to assess HER receptor dimerisation in cancers

   The expression level of the HER family is unreliable as a predictive marker for targeted therapies in cancer. Thus, there is a need to develop other biomarkers, which can be used to accurately select responsive patients for targeted therapies. The HER dimerization status may be more important than HER receptor expression per se in determining sensitivity or resistance to a given therapeutic agent. The aim of the lab is to develop a FRET assay to assess HER receptor dimerization. We have recently validated our EGFR/HER2 dimerization assay in various cell lines and also applied our assay to assess EGFR/HER2 dimerization in paraffin embedded cell pellets. We aim to apply the assay to tumor samples in order to assess the prognostic significance and predictive value of HER receptor dimerization in various cancers. We are currently using FRET to assess other HER receptor dimerisation and other protein interaction in relation to targeted therapies. The aim is to develop new biomarkers in relation to cancer treatments.