Cancer’s Worst Feature – Oncogene Addiction

Cancer results from genetic and epigenetic changes accumulating over many years. Examining a normal cell’s journey to cancer reveals a highly complex system. In contrast, some cancer cells depend for growth on a single oncogene (a gene supporting abnormal growth), on which they depend. Let us explore the feature enabling the development of today’s targeted treatments, oncogene addiction , and learn about it.

What Is an Oncogene?

Oncogenes arise through mutations in genes normally controlling cell growth. Although many genes become disrupted in a cancer cell, aggressive, uncontrolled growth in some cancers depends on a single gene. This has been demonstrated in experimental animals, human cancer cells and human clinical trials. The strongest evidence supporting oncogene addiction comes from successful drugs targeting a single oncogene in specific cancers. Targeted drugs with efficacy established in clinical trials are listed below.

Differences in intracellular signaling pathways and gene activity distinguish cancer cells from normal cells. A single oncogene can therefore be vital to a cancer cell.

• Developing genetic techniques improve understanding of oncogene addiction and enable targeted drug development. Oncogene addiction is one of cancer’s “weak” points.
• Current technology cannot fully analyze growth differences between normal and cancer cells. Advances in molecular modeling and bioinformatics may make complete analyses possible.
• Oncogenes are identified in cancer cells by stopping gene activity using micrornas / miRNA and discovering which genes are most important for the cancer cell. Most targeted drugs used clinically were developed through this approach.
• It is important to emphasize that although drugs targeting a single gene substantially shrink tumors and control disease, cancer cells can mutate rapidly and develop resistance. New-generation treatments are therefore generally planned as combinations of targeted drugs and other treatments.

The Future of Targeted Drugs and Cancer Genetics

Advances in genetics in particular support efforts to map the cancer cell’s entire genetic structure. Integrative genomics is a new discipline identifying the genetic structure of each cancer cell in tumor tissue and determining protein differences. It enables comparison of genes, proteins and other molecules across thousands of cancer cells.

Crispr technology can change a damaged oncogene and completely eliminate the disease. Intensive efforts are being made to use it in cancer treatment. In addition to 2 ongoing clinical trials in China, more than 20 trials have begun for different cancers.

Modern medicine approaches cancer from every angle and seeks to offer the most appropriate treatments. Cancer treatment is therefore possible only through the opportunities modern medicine provides.