As one of ACCRF’s earliest grantees and research partners, Dr. Göran Stenman, DMD, PhD has been
instrumental in understanding the mechanisms of ACC and in building an international research network focused on the disease.
Dr. Stenman is a Senior Professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. He is the founder and previous director of the Sahlgrenska Center for Cancer Research. Dr. Stenman has, since 2006, received three separate ACCRF Research grants to study genomic alterations and their significance in ACC.
His pioneering work on the MYB gene was a watershed in ACC research. In 2009, Dr. Stenman became the first researcher to identify the key genomic event in ACC (a recurrent chromosomal translocation resulting in activation of the potent MYB oncogene). Later, in 2017, he demonstrated that silencing MYB slows the growth of ACC cells. These discoveries were central to attracting industry interest in developing MYB inhibitor drugs for ACC.
Through his research, Dr. Stenman has forged fruitful partnerships among institutions and oncologists around the world, raising awareness and helping to build an international ACC research community. Through these collaborations, Dr. Stenman’s lab went on to publish research showing that the majority of ACCs throughout the body overexpress MYB or MYBL1 and that certain genomic alterations are prognostic markers of aggressive disease.
Dr. Stenman’s efforts continue to bring increased visibility to ACC research and shape some of the most promising treatment efforts in the field today. On behalf of the ACC research and patient communities, we extend our sincerest gratitude to Dr. Stenman for his remarkable contributions.