Cancer Protein MYC Found to Aid DNA Repair, Helping Tumors Survive Treatment
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Researchers have discovered a key mechanism by which the cancer-driving protein MYC helps tumors resist therapy. MYC directly assists in repairing damaged DNA, allowing cancer cells to recover from chemotherapy and other treatments. This finding is informing ongoing clinical trials testing a new MYC inhibitor drug.
Facts First
- MYC protein aids DNA repair, allowing cancer cells to survive chemotherapy and other DNA-damaging treatments.
- A modified form of MYC moves to damaged DNA to gather necessary repair proteins, according to Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) research.
- Cancers with high MYC activity show increased DNA repair and are linked to worse patient outcomes.
- OHSU is conducting a clinical trial with a first-in-class MYC inhibitor drug, OMO-103, in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
What Happened
A study published in Genes & Development reveals that the protein MYC helps cancer cells survive by repairing damaged DNA. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) discovered that a modified version of MYC moves to sites of DNA damage to gather proteins needed for repair. Cells with this active form of MYC repair DNA more efficiently and show higher survival rates under stress, including exposure to DNA-damaging treatments like chemotherapy. Using patient-derived pancreatic cancer cells and tumor data, the team found that cancers with high MYC activity showed increased DNA repair and were associated with worse patient outcomes.
Why this Matters to You
This discovery may lead to more effective cancer therapies. If you or a loved one are facing cancer, treatments that target MYC's DNA repair function could potentially make tumors more vulnerable to existing chemotherapy, improving outcomes. The research is already being translated into a clinical trial, suggesting this finding could move from the lab to the clinic relatively quickly.
What's Next
OHSU researchers are currently running a 'window of opportunity' clinical trial investigating a first-in-class MYC inhibitor drug called OMO-103. In this short-term study, patients with advanced pancreatic cancer undergo biopsies before and after receiving the drug to understand how blocking MYC affects their tumors. The results of this trial could inform the development of new combination therapies that make cancer cells more susceptible to treatment.