Reporting from Inside Precision Medicine discusses a recent study published in the journal Cell that has revealed new therapeutic targets for the treatment of several different types of cancer. A research team affiliated with the Baylor College of Medicine drew on data from the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC), as well as other publicly accessible sources.
These new targets were determined to be applicable across 10 different cancers. The various proteogenomic datasets were integrated together to evaluate variations in genetics and protein alterations in order to pinpoint weaknesses that could be exploited. This included data on proteins, DNA, and RNA. The data drew on tissue samples from 1,043 treatment-naïve primary cancer tumors as well as 524 normal adjacent tissues that were used for comparison.
The team applied the systemic data integration in order to identify gene variants and proteins that were critical for the development and growth of the tumors. Areas of focus included:
- Protein dependencies that were linked to the loss of tumor suppressor genes
- Proteins that were hyperactivated or overexpressed by the cancer tumors
- New tumor antigens and neoantigens, which are cancer-specific peptides that are the result of genetic mutations in the tumor
Along with identification of new therapy targets, the researchers also suggested approaches for how they could be applied, such as through biomarker-guided therapies. One example was the finding that TP53-mutated uterine cancer had abnormally high TOP2A activity and abundance, suggesting that doxorubicin (already approved for this cancer) could be especially effective for this patient population.
Overall, these findings open up opportunities for more personalized treatment regimens and even the repurposing of certain drugs.
“This study shows that the integration of proteomic data with other omics data provides a more comprehensive understanding of cancer biology, paving the way for innovative therapeutic strategies.” – Bing Zhang, PhD, senior author
The researchers also developed a web portal for the use of other researchers in the interest of data transparency and accessibility. Check out the original study here.
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Last modified: July 26, 2024
