Articles related to GENE THERAPY

Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPH, of the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia, H. Jack West, MD, of the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Los Angeles area, and Devika Das, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham discuss the distinction between uncommon EGFR mutations and sensitizing mutations, as well as the lack of data on how to treat these patients with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

The adenoviral vector–based gene therapy contains the gene for interferon alfa-2b. It is administered by catheter into the bladder once every three months. The virus penetrates the bladder endothelial cells and releases the gene, which is incorporated by the cells. As a result, the cells begin secreting high levels of the cancer-fighting interferon.

A quartet of current clinical trials involving first-in-class molecules and CRISPR gene editing show great promise. STELLAR investigates a fusion protein in PAH, CodeBreak 200 studies a first-in-class of KRAS inhibitor, EMERGENT-2 focuses on a new treatment for schizophrenia, and NCT04601051 studies a gene editing drug for one form of amyloidosis.

In the study,155 FDA-approved drugs with 136 potentially targetable genes were identified.One-hundred forty-six (94%) of the drugs showed no or low genetically predicted drug response. Although ATC-carrying BRAF mutations can benefit from BRAF inhibitors and this effect might be enhanced by a combined strategy including PIK3CA inhibitors in some of the patients, alterations in BRAFWT ATC are not directly targeted by currently FDA-approved options.

Targeted therapy gene mutations may: (a) encode a protein that can be targeted in a manner distinct from the WT protein; (b) cause abnormal activation of a protein that is druggable but for which mutant-specific targeting has not been achieved; or (c) create novel molecular dependencies that are druggable. This article describe key examples of genetic drivers and associated modes of druggability, considers the clinical and research challenges in the field, and discusses new approaches to maximizing therapeutic benefit of targeted therapies.

Blocking expression of FOXK2 in cancer stem cells inhibited growth of these cells, reducing their so-called “stemness,” making them more like normal cells.