Aspirin and new approaches for chemoprevention: can we target cancer stem cells?

Abstract

Chris Paraskeva speaks to Laura Dormer, Commissioning Editor: Chris Paraskeva is Professor of Experimental Oncology and Director of the Cancer Research UK Colorectal Tumour Biology Research Group at the University of Bristol (UK). His academic career has focused on research and educational activities in cellular and molecular biology of colorectal cancer. Professor Paraskeva has had a long standing interest in promoting the excitement of science and ‘widening participation’ so that the general public can reduce their risk of developing cancer. Before going to Bristol University, he studied as an undergraduate at Manchester University (UK) and then Oxford University (UK) where he obtained his D.Phil. He then held postdoctoral fellowships in Cancer Studies at Birmingham University Medical School (UK) and then Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London (UK) before going to Bristol, where he obtained his chair in 1993. He has a long standing interest in cancer prevention and, in particular, the mechanisms by which NSAIDs, such as aspirin, and dietary factors, such as fiber, exert their chemopreventive properties and their potential exploitation for novel preventive and therapeutic strategies. His current research investigates the role of the prostaglandin E2/COX-2 signaling pathways in colorectal tumorigenesis and chemoprevention, identification of novel biomarkers for the early detection of bowel cancer, and cancer stem cells. His recent work also focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which cancer cells adapt to key tumor microenvironmental stresses, such as hypoxia and energy deprivation, to target the tumor microenvironment as a novel chemopreventive and therapeutic approach for bowel cancer.