A role for injury in sarcomagenesis
Approximately 15% of all childhood tumors are sarcomas, and rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common subtype. Recently, we developed a novel, genetically engineered mouse model of rhabdomyosarcoma and observed that tissue injury acts as a promoter of sarcomagenesis in this system. Many sarcoma patients share a history of injury preceding the development of their tumor, but claims of causation are generally dismissed as coincidence or recall bias. We plan to characterize the nature of injury required for sarcomagenesis in our mouse model system and identify signaling pathways which are activated by injury and promote sarcoma formation. Concurrently, we will develop a self-reported survey tool to better evaluate the association between injury and sarcoma in adult sarcoma patients. We anticipate that a better understanding of signaling pathways upregulated by injury that promote sarcoma development will provide targets for novel therapeutics to prevent local recurrence and metastasis.