Donald J. Alcendor

Biography

Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology at Meharry Medical CollegeAdjunct Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Research Interest

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has reduced the incidence of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) in developed western countries. However, 95% of the estimated 40 to 60 million people infected with HIV have no access to these drugs. HIV/AIDS-associated KS is still a significant problem in the U.S. among individuals who are noncompliant due to toxicities and those who progress to AIDS without receiving drug therapy. KS is cause by Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and is characterized as an angioproliferative tumor of vascular endothelial cells and produces rare B cell lymphoproliferative diseases in the form of pleural effusion lymphomas (PEL) and some forms of Multicentric Castleman’s Disease (MCD). Only 1-5% of cells in KS lesions actively support lytic replication of KSHV, and it is clear that cellular factors must interact with viral factors in the process of oncogenesis and tumor progression. Identifying novel host-factor determinants that contribute to KS pathology is essential for developing prognostic markers for tumor progression and metastasis as well as novel therapeutics for the treatment of KS.