A breakthrough in the research of one of the deadliest forms of cancer may bring new understanding and better treatment to the disease.
Worldwide, lung cancer is the leading cause of death among all cancer types. Often, mortality comes as a result of metastasis, where cancerous cells proliferate from a primary tumor and infect other parts of the body.
According to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the gene MYO9b may be a key indicator of the tumor growth and metastasis that often leads to mortality in lung cancer patients.
In the study, researchers analyzed 60 human lung cancer tissue samples and found that Myosin-9b, the protein that MYO9b encodes, was present in 93% of the samples, whereas the protein was present in only 23% of control samples from corresponding adjacent, non-tumor tissues.
Further, the protein was also highly prevalent in samples from patients whose cancer had spread to their lymph nodes, suggesting that the newly defined Myosin-9b signaling pathway may promote lung cancer metastasis. The researchers also found the expression of MYO9b to be greater in patients with more advanced stages of the disease.
Probability of overall survival was found to be much lower in patients with higher expression of MYO9b. Researchers thus concluded not only that MYO9b is expressed more highly in lung cancer, but also that this increased expression is correlated with faster lung cancer progression and lower overall survival. Reducing the expression of the gene could therefore lead to better lung cancer outcomes.
“Elevated MYO9b expression is associated with fast lung cancer progression and poor prognosis,” principal investigator Jane Wu, MD, PhD, the Dr. Charles L. Mix Research Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a press release. “These observations suggest the exciting possibility of developing MYO9b as a new biomarker for cancer, especially lung cancer.”
