In the fight against cancer, we have discovered that a protein called MYC that helps tumors grow also helps repair the tumor’s DNA when undergoing chemotherapy.
MYC plays a large role in cell proliferation, which is the division of cells into two daughter cells, and it controls the expression of about 15% of all genes. The large percentage of genes it oversees allows for it to easily turn cancerous, as cancer cells are just abnormal cells in the body, and this has been seen in its over activeness in a lot of human cancers.
Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), discovered that the MYC protein actually repairs DNA of cancerous cells. This allows cancerous cells to recover and become more resistant to cancer treatments like chemotherapy or radiation. These effects lead to poorer outcomes for treatments and subsequently worse outcomes for patients.
Although MYC has been researched for years, scientists just discovered this function. When a tumor gets damaged, either from treatment or rapid growth, a modified MYC gathers proteins to repair it. Rosalie Sears, the senior author, said, “This is a nontraditional, or non-canonical, role for MYC. … Instead of controlling gene activity, it’s physically going to sites of DNA damage and helping bring in repair proteins.”
The way cancer treatments work is by destroying the cancerous DNA beyond repair. This does bring some negative effects to the patient, but it is the main method of treatment. If the cell’s DNA is being repaired as treatment is actively trying to damage it, it can prolong treatment and possibly encourage recurrence of cancer.
The experiments with the MYC protein were done with pancreatic cancer cells from patients. It revealed “MYC-driven cancers” quickly repair DNA damage done from treatments, which keeps the tumor alive through aggressive treatments.
This has led to research into MYC focused treatments. Despite MYC’s previous association with cancer, this new research incentivises the development of MYC focused treatments.
This hasn’t been developed before because its structure makes it difficult to bind to without harming healthy cells. It is believed the new research shows a more specific role of MYC in DNA, which allows for a more precise way to target the protein.
The same researchers have already started a short term study using a drug called OMO-103, which is meant to target MYC. They are biopsying pancreatic cancer patients before and after receiving the OMO-103 to understand the changes and effects in tumors of blocking MYC in cancer patients.
This new discovery and ensuing study open new paths for cancer research and broaden our understanding of the effectiveness of cancer treatments.