University of Iowa researchers have been awarded federal funding to help develop an effective drug combination to treat a deadly type of liver cancer.

The Iowa research team will be led by Aliasger Salem, the Lyle and Sharon Bighley Endowed Chair and Professor in the College of Pharmacy and an associate vice president for research at the university.

Salem's team is part of a collaboration led by Virginia Commonwealth University that received $13 million over five years from the National Cancer Institute to advance treatment options for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer.

Salem's role in the project will be to leverage his expertise in drug treatment and delivery to create and develop nanoparticles that can deliver drugs directly to hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The approach, if successful, would be an advancement, as chemotherapy currently affects healthy cells in addition to cancerous cells.

“This project has the potential to transform how liver cancer is treated,” Salem says.

Liver cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and the disease is often identified at an advanced stage, when treatment is less effective. 

Iowa will receive $377,000.

The research project is titled “ExpLoiting thErapeutic VulnerAbilities in hepaTocEllular carcinoma (ELEVATE).” The University of Virginia also is a partner on the award.