William Cance, MD, FACS

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Surgeon-in-Chief
Chair, Department of Surgical Oncology
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Co-Program Leader
Experimental Therapeutics
Cancer Center Support Grant
Professor and Academic Scholar
Department of Surgery
Member, Molecular and Cellular Biophysics and Biochemistry Program, Roswell Park Division
University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Profile

Areas of Expertise: 
GI Oncology
Endocrine Surgery
Pancreatic cancer
Thyroid cancer
Hyperparathyroidism and parathyroid surgery
Adrenal tumors
Biography: 

I have an active translational science research laboratory that has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1992. Our work has centered on focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and its role in cancer. Our laboratory was the first to clone human FAK in the early 1990s and demonstrate its increased expression in invasive and metastatic cancers. We also were the first to show that inhibition of FAK expression induced apoptosis in tumor cells and we were pioneers in application of FAK antisense oligonucleotides in tumor treatment. We also demonstrated the importance of the scaffolding function of FAK in multiple pathways by discovering the interaction of FAK with Receptor Interaction Protein (RIP), tumor suppressor p53, and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 3. We have developed small molecule drugs that inhibit tumor growth through targeting these important protein-protein interactions and are actively pursuing them as novel therapeutic agents with pancreatic cancer as a major focus.

In addition, I am Program Director of an NIH T32 Postdoctoral Research Training in Surgical Oncology Grant. The overall objective of the program is to train clinicians from general surgical oncology and surgical subspecialties (gynecology, head and neck, neuro-oncology, thoracic and urology) to develop skills and expertise in basic science and translational research that will enable trainees to assume productive academic positions. Further information is located here.

I joined the faculty of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 2008 as Chair of the Department of Surgical Oncology and Surgeon-In Chief. I am Board Certified in General Surgery. I treat patients with complex gastrointestinal cancers, with a special interest in pancreatic cancer. I also have a long standing interest in endocrine surgery, particularly in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid and parathyroid diseases including thyroid cancer. One of my special interests is in the treatment of hyperparathyroidism patients by parathyroid surgery using the technique of MIRP (Minimal Invasive Radio-Guided Parathyroidectomy). This minimally invasive technique utilizes intra-operative nuclear mapping resulting in a small scar in the neck region. During the last several years this has become the preferred method of removing hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands.

I am past President of the Society of Surgical Oncology, a member of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, American Association for Cancer Research, Society of University Surgeons, American Surgical Association, Society of Clinical Surgery, American Society of Clinical Oncology as well as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. In addition, I serve on the Editorial Board of the Annals of Surgical Oncology and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. I have also served on the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute of Health.

Dr. Cance has been named as one of the Best Doctors in Western New York and Best Doctors in America.

Research

Research Interests: 
Development of anti-cancer drugs that target focal adhesion kinase (FAK)
Biology of focal adhesion kinase (FAK)
Role of FAK in preventing apoptosis
Other survival mechanisms of cancer cells

Background Information

Education and Training: 
MD - Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC
BS - Duke University, Durham, NC
Residency: 
Surgical Residency - Department of Surgery, Barnes Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Fellowships: 
Fellow, Departments of Surgery and Microbiology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Fellow, Surgical Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Publications

Publications: 
  • Beierle EA, Ma X, Trujillo A, Kurenova EV, Cance WG, Golubovskaya VM. Inhibition of focal adhesion kinase and src increases detachment and apoptosis in human neuroblastoma cell lines. Molecular carcinogenesis 2010; 49(3):224-234
  • Beierle EA, Ma X, Stewart J, Nyberg C, Trujillo A, Cance WG, Golubovskaya VM. Inhibition of focal adhesion kinase decreases tumor growth in human neuroblastoma. Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.) 2010; 9(5):1005-1015
  • Zheng D, Golubovskaya V, Kurenova E, Wood C, Massoll NA, Ostrov D, Cance WG, Hochwald SN. A novel strategy to inhibit FAK and IGF-1R decreases growth of pancreatic cancer xenografts. Molecular carcinogenesis 2010; 49(2):200-209
  • Cance WG. Society of surgical oncology presidential address: the war on cancer--shifting from disappointment to new hope. Annals of surgical oncology 2010; 17(8):1971-1978
  • Golubovskaya VM, Cance W. Focal adhesion kinase and p53 signal transduction pathways in cancer. Frontiers in bioscience 2010; 15:901-912
  • Heffler M, Zhao Y, Cance WG, Golubovskaya V, Bullard Dunn K. The effect of a novel small molecule inhibitor of FAK on viability of human colon cancer cells. Journal of clinical oncology 2010; 28(15 Suppl.):e13635
  • Golubovskaya VM, Conway-Dorsey K, Edmiston SN, Tse C-K, Lark AA, Livasy CA, Moore D, Millikan RC, Cance WG. FAK overexpression and p53 mutations are highly correlated in human breast cancer. International journal of cancer 2009; 125(7):1735-1738
  • Golubovskaya VM, Kwen FA, Cance WG. Focal adhesion kinase and cancer. Histology and histopathology 2009; 24(4):503-510
  • Golubovskaya VM, Zheng M, Zhang L, Li J-L, Cance WG. The direct effect of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), dominant-negative FAK, FAK-CD and FAK siRNA on gene expression and human MCF-7 breast cancer cell tumorigenesis. BMC cancer 2009; 9:280
  • Hochwald SN, Cance WG, Ostrov D, Magis A, Massoll NA, Wood C, Zheng D, Zheng M, Nyberg C, Golubovskaya VM. A novel small molecule inhibitor of FAK decreases growth of human pancreatic cancer. Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.) 2009; 8(15):2435-2443
  • Kurenova EV, Hunt DL, He D, Fu AD, Massoll NA, Golubovskaya VM, Garces CA, Cance WG. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 promotes breast cancer cell proliferation, motility and survival in vitro and tumor formation in vivo. Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.) 2009; 8(14):2266-2280
  • Kurenova EV, Hunt DL, He D, Magis AT, Ostrov DA, Cance WG. Small molecule chloropyramine hydrochloride (C4) targets the binding site of focal adhesion kinase and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 and suppresses breast cancer growth in vivo. Journal of medicinal chemistry 2009; 52(15):4716-4724
  • Kweh F, Min Z, Kurenova E, Wallace M, Golubovskaya V, Cance WG. Neurofibromin physically interacts with the N-terminal domain of focal adhesion kinase. Molecular carcinogenesis 2009; 48(11):1005-1017
  • Zheng D, Kurenova E, Ucar D, Golubovskaya V, Magis A, Ostrov D, Cance WG, Hochwald SN. Targeting of the protein interaction site between FAK and IGF-1R. Biochemical and biophysical research communications 2009; 388(2):301-305
  • Kurenova E, Liau J, Seshadri M, Bshara W, Cance W. The novel FAK inhibitor CFAK-C4 targeted to the binding site of VEGFR-3 inhibits pancreatic cancer proliferation and interferes with tumor vasculogenesis. Annals of oncology 2011; 22(Suppl. 5):v57-v58
  • Golubovskaya VM, Cance WG. FAK and p53 protein interactions. Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry 2011; 11(7):617-619
  • Kurenova EV, Liao J, He D, Hunt DL, Chekhau A, Hochwald SN, Ostrov DA, Cance WG. Effect of a novel FAK inhibitor targeted to the binding site of VEGFR3 on pancreatic cancer proliferation in vitro and in vivo : 2011 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Journal of clinical oncology 2011; 29(4 Suppl.):214
  • Cance WG. 2011 society of surgical oncology heritage award: honoring kirby I. Bland, MD. Annals of surgical oncology 2012; 19(1):7-10
  • Beierle EA, Massoll NA, Hartwich J, Kurenova EV, Golubovskaya VM, Cance WG, McGrady P, London WB. Focal adhesion kinase expression in human neuroblastoma: immunohistochemical and real-time PCR analyses. Clinical cancer research 2008; 14(11):3299-3305
  • Beierle EA, Trujillo A, Nagaram A, Golubovskaya VM, Cance WG, Kurenova EV. TAE226 inhibits human neuroblastoma cell survival. Cancer investigation 2008; 26(2):145-151
  • Cance WG, Golubovskaya VM. Focal adhesion kinase versus p53: apoptosis or survival? . Science signaling 2008; 1(20):pe22
  • Funa NS, Reddy K, Bhandarkar S, Kurenova EV, Yang L, Cance WG, Welsh M, Arbiser JL. Shb gene knockdown increases the susceptibility of SVR endothelial tumor cells to apoptotic stimuli in vitro and in vivo. Journal of investigative dermatology 2008; 128(3):710-716
  • Golubovskaya VM, Finch R, Kweh F, Massoll NA, Campbell-Thompson M, Wallace MR, Cance WG. p53 regulates FAK expression in human tumor cells. Molecular carcinogenesis 2008; 47(5):373-382
  • Golubovskaya VM, Finch R, Zheng M, Kurenova EV, Cance WG. The 7-amino-acid site in the proline-rich region of the N-terminal domain of p53 is involved in the interaction with FAK and is critical for p53 functioning. Biochemical journal 2008; 411(1):151-160
  • Golubovskaya VM, Nyberg C, Zheng M, Kweh F, Magis A, Ostrov D, Cance WG. A small molecule inhibitor, 1,2,4,5-benzenetetraamine tetrahydrochloride, targeting the y397 site of focal adhesion kinase decreases tumor growth. Journal of medicinal chemistry 2008; 51(23):7405-7416
  • Golubovskaya VM, Virnig C, Cance WG. TAE226-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells with overexpressed Src or EGFR. Molecular carcinogenesis 2008; 47(3):222-234
  • Grobmyer SR, Cance WG, Copeland EM, Vogel SB, Hochwald SN. Is there an indication for initial conservative management of pancreatic cystic lesions? . Journal of surgical oncology 2009; 100(5):372-374
  • Grobmyer SR, Hemming AW, Harris N, Behrns K, Logan H, Kim RD, Chang M, Cance WG, Hochwald SN. A pilot prospective randomized trial of postoperative epoetin alfa in patients undergoing major operation for upper gastrointestinal malignancy. American journal of clinical oncology 2009; 32(6):570-573
  • Grobmyer SR, Mortellaro VE, Moore Higgs G, Hochwald SN, Mendenhall NP, Copeland III EM, Cance WG. Is there a role for routine use of MRI in selection of patients for breast-conserving cancer therapy? . Journal of the American College of Surgeons 2008; 206(5):1045-1050; discussion 1050-1052
  • Kurenov SN, Cance WW, Noel B, Mozingo DW. Game-based mass casualty burn training. Studies in health technology and informatics 2009; 142 :142-144
  • Liu W, Bloom DA, Cance WG, Kurenova EV, Golubovskaya VM, Hochwald SN. FAK and IGF-IR interact to provide survival signals in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells. Carcinogenesis 2008; 29(6):1096-1107
  • Magis AT, Bailey KM, Kurenova EV, Hernandez Prada JA, Cance WG, Ostrov DA. Crystallization of the focal adhesion kinase targeting (FAT) domain in a primitive orthorhombic space group. Acta crystallographica. Section F, Structural biology and crystallization communications 2008; 64(Pt 6):564-566
  • Oh M-A, Choi S, Lee MJ, Choi M-C, Lee S-A, Ko W, Cance WG, Oh E-S, Buday L, Kim S-H, Lee JW. Specific tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase mediated by Fer tyrosine kinase in suspended hepatocytes. Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular cell research 2009; 1793(5):781-791
  • Waterman AL, Grobmyer SR, Cance WG, Hochwald SN. Is endoscopic resection of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors safe? . American surgeon 2008; 74(12):1186-1189
  • Shaw CM, Grobmyer SR, Deniza U, Cance WG, Reith JD, Hochwald SN. Elevated expression of IRS2 in the progression from neurofibroma to malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor. Anticancer research 2012; 32(2):439-443
  • Thudium KE, Telang U, Wang P, Diegelman P, Buitrago S, Curtain L, Kurenova E, Cance W, Fetterly G. Pharmacokinetics (PK) and tissue penetration of the novel VEGFR-3/FAK inhibitor, Chloropyramine. Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2011; 52:Abstract #4257
  • Golubovskaya VM, Figel S, Ho BT, Johnson CP, Yemma M, Huang G, Zheng M, Nyberg C, Magis A, Ostrov DA, Gelman IH, Cance WG. A small molecule focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor, targeting Y397 site: 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3, 5, 7-triaza-1-azoniatricyclo [3.3.1.1(3,7)]decane; bromide effectively inhibits FAK autophosphorylation activity and decreases cancer cell viability, clonogenicity and tumor growth in vivo. Carcinogenesis 2012; 33(5):1004-1013
  • Ho B, Olson G, Figel S, Gelman I, Cance WG, Golubovskaya VM. Nanog Increases Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) Promoter Activity and Expression and Directly Binds to FAK Protein to Be Phosphorylated. Journal of biological chemistry 2012; 287(22):18656-18673
  • 24620, 23743, Cance W. Virtual interrupted suturing exercise with the endo stitch suturing device. Lecture notes in computer science 2011; 6939:55-63
  • Ucar DA, Kurenova E, Garrett TJ, Cance WG, Nyberg C, Cox A, Massoll N, Ostrov DA, Lawrence N, Sebti SM, Zajac-Kaye M, Hochwald SN. Disruption of the protein interaction between FAK and IGF-1R inhibits melanoma tumor growth. Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.) 2012; 11(17):3250-3259