A Waste of Time?
11/08/10 15:31 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Submitted by S. Pelech - Kinexus on Wed, 08/11/2010 - 15:31.
It is indeed correct that a drug that is highly specific for a particular oncoprotein that has a gain of function in a cancer will likely not cure that cancer. This is due to the fact that multiple genetic lesions are required to initiate any cancer. Also, because resistance will develop in a sub-population of residual cancer cells as the originating oncogene undergoes further mutation so that the drug is ineffective against its target. However, the deployment of a panel of two or three specific drugs against oncoproteins that are simultaneously overactive in the same cancer should produce a nearly 100% kill rate and effectively cure the disease. Most oncogenes encode protein kinases. As more potent and selective inhibitors for a wider range of kinases become available from the pharmaceutical industry, this combination therapy will become a very viable strategy for delivery of personalized medicine. Simply imaging tumor better does not provide much insight into the molecular defects that give rise to a particular cancer in a patient. However, fine needle biopsy sampling, and genomics and proteomics analyses can define the specific oncoproteins in a patient that should be targeted for treatment.
Link to the original blog post.
It is indeed correct that a drug that is highly specific for a particular oncoprotein that has a gain of function in a cancer will likely not cure that cancer. This is due to the fact that multiple genetic lesions are required to initiate any cancer. Also, because resistance will develop in a sub-population of residual cancer cells as the originating oncogene undergoes further mutation so that the drug is ineffective against its target. However, the deployment of a panel of two or three specific drugs against oncoproteins that are simultaneously overactive in the same cancer should produce a nearly 100% kill rate and effectively cure the disease. Most oncogenes encode protein kinases. As more potent and selective inhibitors for a wider range of kinases become available from the pharmaceutical industry, this combination therapy will become a very viable strategy for delivery of personalized medicine. Simply imaging tumor better does not provide much insight into the molecular defects that give rise to a particular cancer in a patient. However, fine needle biopsy sampling, and genomics and proteomics analyses can define the specific oncoproteins in a patient that should be targeted for treatment.
Link to the original blog post.