Nature Sub-journal: Genetic mutations in Asian population sedlead malignant head and neck and lung cancer

April 7, 2020 /
Bio-Valley BIOON /-- Researchers at the Singapore Institute of Cancer Science (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have discovered a genetic mutation called MET that causes more severe growth of head and neck and lung cancer Further investigation of this finding has revealed possible treatment strategies for this genetic modification, paving the way for clinicians to develop better and more effective treatments The study, published recently in The Nature Of, was entitled "A common MET polymorphim harnee her2 ignaling to drive aggreive quamou cell carcinoma" Picture: The MET gene encodes a cancer-promoting protein that supports cancer cells to grow and survive and transmit signals The study, led by PROFESSOR CSI Singapore Goh Boon Cher and Dr Kong Li Ren, found a form of protein that showed a higher frequency in Asians, which was associated with poor prognosis in patients diagnosed with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma or pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma Although the mutation in the MET gene does not seem to cause cancer in a person, it can lead to a more serious increase in the number of cancers that already occur unlike other MET mutants, this gene variant does not appear to be inhibited by existing MET-blocking drugs that have been developed and approved in clinical settings, prompting further research by researchers on the mechanisms behind genetic changes using the team's multidisciplinary expertise and advanced molecular models, the team found that individual amino acid changes in met receptors led to a strong binding to another cancer-promoting protein, HER2 The two proteins then work together to drive cancer attacks and allow cancer cells to survive under treatments involving methyl metastase-blocking drugs "the mechanism of MET variation is novel and has not yet been reported This finding provides increasing evidence of the role of gene variants in influencing clinical outcomes and underscores the importance of in-depth study of genetic genetic in cancer research," said Dr Kong, a CSI researcher in Singapore who led the study understanding of this unique mechanism also helped the team use laboratory models to identify several HER2 inhibitors that can prevent cancer progression caused by this genetic change Professor Goh, Deputy Director and Senior Lead Researcher, CSI Singapore, said: "Our study represents a concept that has evolved into cancer research, and we have shown that it is possible to prevent cancer-driven gene activity for targeted treatment of mutant proteins, not at mutant proteins, but for the binding targets of mutant proteins." The remarkable anti-
tumor responses observed in our experimental models, coupled with the availability of HER2 inhibitors approved by the FDA, also provide a significant opportunity for clinicians to improve the outcome of this genetically modified disease through precision medicine (biovalleybioon.com) Reference: 1) Reearch: Hereditary drive aggress head and, lung cancer in Aian population
2 Li Ren Kong et al.
A common MET polymorphim harnee her2 ignaling to drive aggreive quamou cell carcinoma , Nature Communication (2020) DOI: 10.1038/41467-020-15318-5