American Cancer Society invests in UT San Antonio pediatric bone cancer research

Contact: Eileen Teves, 210-450-7239, [email protected]

SAN ANTONIO, June 30, 2026 - The American Cancer Society has awarded an $879,000 Research Scholar Grant to Panneerdoss Subbarayalu, PhD, assistant professor/research in the Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy at the Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio). The four-year grant will support groundbreaking research at Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute to develop a new targeted therapy for osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer in children and adolescents.

The American Cancer Society Research Scholar Grant is a highly competitive national award that recognizes investigators conducting innovative cancer research that has strong potential to advance cancer care and improve patient outcomes.

Subbarayalu's research is aimed at identifying safer and more effective treatment strategies for osteosarcoma and exploring a promising therapeutic target known as Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Receptor (LIFR).

"Our work shows that LIFR plays a critical role in driving tumor growth, metastasis, treatment resistance and the survival of cancer stem cells," said Subbarayalu, the study's principal investigator. "Our findings suggest that targeting LIFR may help suppress tumor growth, reduce treatment resistance and improve sensitivity to radiation therapy, potentially leading to better outcomes for young patients."

Although current treatments combine surgery and intensive chemotherapy, nearly half of osteosarcoma patients experience relapse, often due to metastatic disease. Once the cancer spreads to the lungs or other organs, five-year survival rates drop to approximately 20 percent.

The research team also includes co-investigators Peter Houghton, PhD, professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine and distinguished former director of the Greehey Institute; Gail Tomlinson, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics, chief of pediatric hematology-oncology in the Department of Pediatrics, and co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Screening Committee; Yidong Chen, PhD, professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences and investigator with the Greehey Institute; Suryavathi Viswanadhapalli, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Hareesh B. Nair, PhD, associate professor at Texas Tech University Health Science Center, and previously senior director of discovery biology at Evestra, Inc. Nair is the lead inventor on LIFR inhibitor patent.

They found that LIFR plays a critical role in driving tumor growth, metastasis and the survival of stem-like cancer cells that can resist therapy and contribute to recurrence. Early findings from the team suggest that blocking LIFR signaling may reduce cancer stem cell survival and restore sensitivity to radiation treatment.

"Validating LIFR as a therapeutic target could have a transformative impact," said Subbarayalu. "If we can sensitize osteosarcoma cells to radiation, we may be able to lower the required radiation dose while reducing long-term treatment toxicity for pediatric patients."

Researchers believe successful completion of the study will provide strong preclinical evidence for advancing LIFR inhibitors into future clinical evaluation as a targeted therapy for osteosarcoma. The work represents a step towards developing stronger, more effective treatment options for osteosarcoma.

To learn more about the Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, visit gccri.uthscsa.edu.

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The Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute at UT Health San Antonio is one of only two institutes in the United States dedicated solely to pediatric cancer research. Launched in 2004, the institute encompasses 18 laboratories, where researchers focus on cancer genomics, DNA repair, RNA biology and drug development for new and less-toxic treatments for childhood cancers. UT Health San Antonio is the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio).