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A consortium of researchers led by researchers at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center has completed the largest badysis of a new gene for gene fusion that they believe is responsible for developing a wide range of types of cancer. They claim that their studies demonstrate that existing agents can target erroneous gene fusions in neuregulin-1 or NRG1, present in about 0.2% of cancers, although a new treatment may actually stop these cancers.
The discovery, reported in Clinical research on cancer, represents an emerging area of research in which researchers focus on the target genes that are responsible for the development of cancer rather than the organ or site in which the cancer occurs. This approach is known as "agnostic tumor".
Late last year, the FDA approved the first targeted anti-cancer drug based on tumor genetics observed in many types of cancer. The drug targets another gene fusion (NTRK) that would be responsible for 1% of solid tumor cancers.
"What all cancer researchers want, is finding the right treatment for the right patient, regardless of the location of the tumor." The future is to profile tumors to find unique vulnerabilities that can be treated with effective molecular therapy, and this research represents another Stephen V. Liu, MD, badociate professor of medicine at Georgetown Lombardi.
NRG1 fusion occurs when the NRG1 gene, essential for the normal development of the heart and nervous system, fuses with another gene, such as CD74, a transmembrane protein often found on cancer cells. In this collaborative effort, the Caris Life Sciences Molecular Database has been studied to describe the incidence and characterization of NRG1 fusions in solid tumors. This study has defined the impact of NRG1 fusions on nearly 22,000 tumor samples – the largest study of its kind to date. The highest incidence of NRG1 fusion was found in non-small lung cancers, but gene fusion, better detected by RNA sequencing, was also found in kidney gallbladder, bladder, ovary, pancreas, bad and colorectal, as well as in sarcomas and cancers. neuroendocrine cancers.
"Patients with these NRG1-related cancers may derive fewer benefits from immunotherapy or the usual treatments for site-specific cancers than from those of a treatment that actually targets cancer. their cancer, "says Liu.
The researchers also discovered NRG1 "fusion partners" – proteins that bind to NRG1 proteins to form a pro-oncogenic pathway – are variables within and across tumor types.
"The precision of oncology can change the treatment of cancer.It is elegant and rational.Treatment of NRG1 cancers will be the next big advance of targeted therapy, and patients should be screened for this type of cancer. Alteration, "he said.
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