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Gene Switches in Cancer Development and Treatment
The "mechanisms by which these genomic regions act are not fully understood." It is known by laboratory oncologists that on-off switches and back up switches constitute the controls of cancer. When one of these switches stops working and a cell "short circuits," cancer is the result.
Study findings were reported a 2011 American Association of Cancer Research Meeting (AACR), on novel compounds that target two parallel circuits in cancer cells. These compounds, or small molecules, disrupt the signal that drives cancer cell survival and proliferation. While the profiles of each drug alone were of interest, the study found the profiles of the drugs in combination were better still.
The phenomenon of cross-talk defines an escape mechanism whereby cancer cells blocked from one passage, find a second. When therapists have the capacity to block more than one pathway, the cancer cell is trapped and often dies. This is what's observed with duel inhibitor combinations.
What was also interesting was the fact that these activities cut across various tumor types. Melanomas, colon cancers and lung cancers seem to have similar propensities to drive along these paths, demonstrating that cancer biology is non-linear. Cancers share pathways across tumor types in pathways that might not intuitively seem related.
It is the beauty of phenotype analysis that allows exploration of drugs and combinations that most clinicians wouldn't think of. It will be these counterintuitive explorations that will lead to meaningful advances.
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Linear Mode
