Treating Incurable Cancer: 'Difficult, Not Impossible'

Scientists attempting to arrest the progression of cancer without a cure dubbed 'NUT midline carcinoma'.

NMC, which affects all age groups, is a rapid-growth disease with an average survival time of four and a half months after diagnosis, making the development of clinical trials for potential therapies or cures for this cancer difficult, to say the least.

Peritoneal Cancer – Types – Symptoms and Signs – Diagnosis - Treatment
Peritoneal cancer is a rare cancer that develops in the peritoneum. Peritoneal cancers may be primary or secondary and symptoms of peritoneal cancer are vague.

But difficult doesn't mean impossible, and Olaf Wiest, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame, is one of a group of collaborators studying the effects of a specific molecule (JQ1) on the trigger that controls the growth of this form of cancer.

Most people are familiar with genetics and the role they play in our height, hair color, and even predisposition to various diseases. "But there is this whole other world called epigenetics that controls which genes are expressed and which aren't," says Wiest.

This epigenetic world is made up of three classes of proteins: writers, erasers and readers, collectively the "instruction manual" that tells a gene when to activate and when to cease activation. Writers will create the instruction for the gene while erasers will remove instructions. Readers control the group and issue the start and stop commands for genes to use their instructions.

Prostate Cancer Screening
PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test and Digital Rectal Examination are two tests that allow detection of prostate cancer at early stages.

"The reason NMC is so aggressive is because these cancer cells divide very fast," says Wiest.

This rapid-growth is caused by the protein BRD4, an epigenetic reader that interacts with another protein called a histone. Their interaction changes the instructions for the gene and keeps the growth trigger permanently activated.

About Cancer in Women
Cancer is one of the frequently talked about and most feared disease that falls under the genre of lifestyle diseases that have evolved, rather rapidly, in the past two decades.

Wiest says that the solution is to block that protein. By disrupting the protein-to-protein interaction, it not only halts the constant growth command, but it also makes the cancer cells forget their instructions thereby making them resemble normal cells.

Research into epigenetic readers, however, is relatively new. There is already a vast amount of information on writers and a lot of interest in erasers in the research community.

Pancreatic Cancer - All About the Disease, its Diagnosis and Management
Pancreatic cancer often involves its exocrine part. It grows aggressively, and often detected late. Treatment options include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

Source-ANI