Dr. Chi Viet, an associate professor and attending surgeon in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, has been awarded a $4 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01 grant to study oral precancer and its progression to oral cancer.Dr. Chi Viet, an associate professor and attending surgeon in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, has been awarded a $4 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01 grant to study oral precancer and its progression to oral cancer. The research will focus on using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a multi-omic biomarker to identify patients with oral precancer who are at highest risk of developing cancer. This could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment, improving patient outcomes. Viet has established a research program that investigates treatment strategies for oral cancer, and has secured more than $9 million in research funding for Loma Linda University Health. Her research is highly translational, with oral cancer patients treated by her and her colleagues being enrolled directly into clinical trials run by the lab. One way to improve survival is to diagnose cancer at its earliest stages. Currently, about 10 percent of people have oral lesions that can appear as white or red lesions. Some of these lesions are precancerous and often lead to a cancer diagnosis. Viet’s research uses a patient’s molecular signature — a combination of histological and epigenetic markers — to identify cancer progression. Viet’s goal is to improve outcomes by engaging patients in her own surgical practice to understand the molecular mechanisms driving oral cancer. Nationally, only 0.7% of surgeons are funded by the NIH, and only a fraction receive R01 grants. This R01 grant award is the second $4 million grant in less than two years for oral cancer research at Loma Linda University. It is another step toward Loma Linda University Cancer Center’s goal of designation as an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Chi Viet is a treating surgeon in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and the principal investigator for the grant
Loma Linda University School of Dentistry has been awarded a $4 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01 grant to study oral precancer and its progression to oral cancer. The research will focus on using artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a multi-omic biomarker to identify patients with oral precancer who are at highest risk of developing cancer.
Chi Viet, DDS, MD, PhD, FACS, associate professor and attending surgeon in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and principal investigator on the grant, says that every hour in the U.S., someone dies from oral cancer.
“There has been no significant improvement in the treatment or survival of oral cancer in the past few decades,” Viet said. “Patients suffer through very disfiguring surgery and chemoradiation, but face terrible odds to beat their cancer.”
Viet and her team have established a research program that investigates treatment strategies for oral cancer. Viet has worked to secure more than $9 million in research funding for Loma Linda University Health. The research is highly translational, with oral cancer patients treated by her and her colleagues being enrolled directly into clinical trials run by the lab.
One way to improve survival is to diagnose cancer at its earliest stages. Currently, about 10 percent of people have oral lesions that can appear as white or red lesions. Some of these lesions are precancerous and often lead to a cancer diagnosis. Viet’s research uses a patient’s molecular signature — a combination of histological and epigenetic markers — to identify cancer progression.
Viet’s goal is to improve outcomes by engaging patients in her own surgical practice to understand the molecular mechanisms driving oral cancer. Nationally, only 0.7% of surgeons are funded by the NIH, and only a fraction receive R01 grants, Viet said.
This R01 grant award is the second $4 million grant in less than two years for oral cancer research. It is another step toward Loma Linda University Cancer Center’s goal of designation as an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center.
