Genetic screen finds new treatment targets for lung cancer
09 Jul 2013 Cancer Research UK scientists are the first to use an efficient new screening strategy to identify gene faults in tumour cells that are possible drug targets for the most common form of lung cancer, according to new research published in PNAS*, yesterday (Monday). Researchers from the Cancer Research UK's Paterson Institute for Cancer Research at The University of Manchester studied six different non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines growing in the lab, each of which was known to carry more than 60 gene faults**. To find out exactly which faults were driving the cancer, the scientists specifically switched off each of the different faulty genes in turn, then looked to see if the cells stopped growing. The team found three key gene faults that lead to the production of overactive proteins, sending signals telling the cells to grow out of control***. Importantly, these proteins are potential targets for precision cancer drugs that block specific molecules in tumour cells. Lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer in the UK with around 41,000 new cases a year, accounting for 13 per cent of all cancer cases, and has one of the lowest survival rates of any cancer. Overall, fewer than one in 10 people diagnosed with lung cancer survive for at least five years after diagnosis.
