Research Programs: Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine

Kratz003@umn.edu
612-626-0400 — office
612-625-3990 — lab
Preferred method of contact: e-mail

Dr. Kratzke's clinical profile
(University of Minnesota Physicians Web site)

Dr. Kratzke received his M.D. from the University of Washington in 1983. He conducted an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1983-1986 and was Research Fellow at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, 1986-1988. He was on the medical staff of the National Cancer Institute from 1988-1994. He joined the Minneapolis VA Medical Center in 1999 and is currently the Skoglund Professor of Lung Cancer Research and an associate professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Research Interests

My laboratory conducts research into the role of genetic and epigenetic alterations in the development of thoracic cancers. We have looked extensively at the nature and consequences of mutations involving either the retinoblastoma susceptibility (Rb) or the p16INK4a gene in both lung cancer and mesothelioma. We have identified that the p16INK4a gene product, for example, is absent in virtually all cases of mesothelioma. This appears to be an attractive target for gene replacement therapy in this relatively infrequent disease. Previously, we have been using viral transfer vectors in vitro to investigate this potential.

Recently, we have changed to recombinant protein vectors for gene therapy in an attempt to avoid the potential toxicities of viral vectors. In addition, our lab has become interested in cap-mediated translation as a target for cancer therapy. We hare participating in a novel drug design program that hopes to manufacture a new class of drugs targeting this mechanism. Our lab has also finished a large project to develop molecular assays for micrometastatic disease in patients with early stage (resectable) lung cancer and colon cancer, results of which we are beginning to analyze and report.

Selected Publications

Potti A, Mukherjee S, Petersen R, Dressman HK, Bild A, Koontz J, Kratzke R, Watson MA, Kelley M, Ginsburg GS, West M, Harpole Jr, DH, Nevins JR. A genomic strategy to refine prognosis in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:22-32.

Whitson BA, Jacobson BA, Frizelle S, Patel MR, Yee D, Maddaus MA, Kratzke, RA. The effects of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor inhibition in mesothelioma. Ann Thorac Surg. 2006;82:996-1001.

Jacobson, BA, Alter, MD, Kratzke, MG, Frizelle, SP, Peterson, MS, Avdulov, S, Mohorn, RP, Whitson, BA,Bitterman, PA, Polunovsky, VA, Kratzke, RA. Repression of cap-dependent translation attenuates the transformed phenotype in non-small cell lung cancer both in vitro and in vivo. Cancer Res. 2006;66:4256-4262.

Hoang CD, Guillaume TJ, Engel SC, Tawfic SH, Kratzke RA, Maddaus MA. Analysis of paired primary lung and lymph node tumor cells: A model of metastatic potential by multiple genetic programs. Cancer Detect Prev. 2005;29:509-517.

D'Cunha J, Herndon JE 2nd, Herzan DL, Patterson GA, Kohman LJ, Harpole DH, Kernstine KH, Kern JA, Green MR, Maddaus MA, Kratzke RA; Cancer and Leukemia Group B. Poor correspondence between clinical and pathologic staging in stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer: results from CALGB 9761, a prospective trial. Lung Cancer. 2005;48:241-246.

Govindan R, Kratzke RA, Herndon JE 2nd, Niehans GA, Vollmer R, Watson D, Green MR, Kindler HL; Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB 30101). Gefitinib in patients with malignant mesothelioma: a phase II study by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B. Clin Cancer Res. 2005;11:2300-2304.

Potti A, Mukherjee S, Petersen R, Dressman HK, Bild A, Koontz J, Kratzke RA, Watson MA, Kelley M, Ginsburg GS, West M, Harpole Jr, DH, Nevins JR. A genomic strategy to refine prognosis in early-stage non–small-cell lung cancer. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:22-32.

Whitson, BA, Jacobson BA, Frizelle S, Patel MR, Yee D, Maddaus MA, Kratzke RA. The effects of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 receptor inhibition in mesothelioma. Ann Thorac Surg. 2006;82:996-1001.

Patel, MR, Jacobson, BA, De, A, Frizelle, SP, Janne, P, Thumma, SC, Whitson, BA, Farassati, F, Kratzke, RA.  Ras pathway activation in malignant mesothelioma. J Thoracic Oncol. 2007;2:789-795.

Edelman, MJ, Watson, D, Wang, X, Morrison, C, Kratzke, RA, Jewell, S, Hodgson, L, Mauer, A, Graziano, SL, Masters, GA, Bedor, M, Green, MJ, Vokes, EE. Eicosanoid modulation in advanced lung cancer: COX-2 expression is a positive predictive factor for celecoxib + chemotherapy. J Clin Oncolo. 2008;26:848-855.