The Potential of Targeting NRG1 for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
According to a study, targeting neuregulin-1 (NRG1) may present a potential treatment strategy for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
Study authors noted, as the overall 5-year survival rate for patients with esophageal cancer is < 20%, it may be that “ESCC cells may develop survival mechanisms to survive under conditions of stress, such as hypoxia and use of anticancer drugs.” Because of this, they went on, “identification of novel biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for ESCC is key.”
Samples from patients with ESCC and The Cancer Genome Atlas databased were analyzed, using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry staining to determine gene and protein levels in the tissue.
In this study, NRG1 gene expression and protein levels were significantly elevated in the tumor tissue of patients with ESCC when compared with adjacent normal tissue. While the association between NRG1 protein expression and overall or disease-specific survival was not significant, higher expression of NRG1 was associated with unfavorable overall survival among those patients with poor differentiation, advanced stage disease, and lymph node invasion. Additionally, it was found that when NRG1 was silenced, both the mRNA and protein levels were decreased, which led to a decrease in cancer cell proliferation, migration, and tumor sphere formation, and an increase in cell death.
Study authors concluded, “Given the poor prognosis and treatment outcomes for ESCC, the present findings suggested that NRG1 may serve as a promising biomarker and therapeutic target.”
Source:
Tseng Y-C, Liu P-F, Chen Y-R, et al. Elevated neuregulin-1 expression modulates tumor malignancy and autophagy in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. International Journal of Molecular Medicine. Published February 12, 2025. doi:10.3892/ijmm.2025.5503
