Dr. Richard Pietras's research focuses on the discovery and design of novel therapies for human solid tumors, such as breast, ovarian and lung cancer.

Specifically, Pietras' laboratory effort is directed toward understanding molecular alterations that are important in converting a normal cell into a cancerous one, with exploitation of biologic differences between normal and tumor cells for therapeutic benefit. Pietras has targeted growth factors and hormones, such as estrogens and their specific receptors, which are crucial in regulating cancer growth. For example, erb B/HER oncogenes encode receptors for epidermal growth factor (EGF), HER-2, HER-3 and HER-4 growth factors. One or more of these oncogenes is overexpressed in two-thirds of breast cancers. Overexpression of these gene products associates with poor outcome in the clinic and predicts responses to chemotherapy and hormonal therapy.

Antibodies and other chemical inhibitors of erb B/HER receptors have significant antitumor activity that is now being utilized in the clinic. Pietras plans to develop further biologic treatments based on new understanding of molecular pathways driving malignant growth and tumor-associated angiogenesis. In this process, screening of hundreds of natural products for antitumor activity will be an important research emphasis. These efforts seek out more efficacious treatments with an improved quality of life for afflicted patients.