The researchers, led by a team from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, have shown that malignant cells in multiple myeloma frequently harbor mutations which play a key role in promoting cell growth and preventing programmed cell death. The results of this research appear in the August, 2007, issue of Cancer Cell.
This signaling pathway prevents cell death and therefore suggests that inhibitors of the NF-kappaB pathway would provide a rational approach to the treatment of certain cancers. This is an important prospect because currently therapies are not aimed at genetically-defined pathways, and multiple myeloma remains difficult to treat.
According to Louis M. Staudt M.D., Ph.D., chief of the Lymphoid Malignancies Section of the Metabolism Branch in NCI’s Center for Cancer Research (CCR) and lead author of the report, “The development of effective and non-toxic therapies for cancer depends on an understanding of the genetic defects in cancer cells."Inhibitors that target this pathway are being developed by many pharmaceutical companies, and studies suggest that these agents should be evaluated in clinical trials in patients with multiple myeloma.
W. Michael Kuehl, M.D., chief of the Molecular Pathogenesis of Myeloma Section of the CCR Genetics Branch and a co-director of the study, stated that “Our studies suggest that activation of the NF-kappaB pathway by signals from normal bone marrow cells is critical not only for survival of normal plasma cells but also for pre-malignant and malignant myeloma tumors. The importance of this pathway is highlighted by essential mutations in some myeloma tumors. Regardless of whether or not there are mutations in this pathway, most myeloma tumors may be sensitive to NF-kappaB inhibitors.”
Adapted from NIH press release.
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