Affiliation:
1. Microbiology, University of Wuerzburg, Wuerzburg, Germany
Abstract
Abstract:
Most existing cancer therapies negatively affect normal tissue as well as cancerous tissue.
A potentially effective strategy for treating cancer that precludes off-target damage and could be an
option for most patients would involve targeting one or more mutations that are ubiquitous in the
given patient’s tumor(s). To effect this strategy, one would employ multi-region sequencing of a patient’s primary tumor and metastases to seek out mutations that are shared between all or at least
most regions. Once the target or targets are known, one would ideally rapidly generate a molecular
switch for at least one of said ubiquitous mutations that can distinguish the mutated DNA, RNA, or
protein from the wild-type version and subsequently trigger a therapeutic response. I propose that
the therapeutic response involve the replication of an oncolytic virus or intracellular bacterium, as
any mutation can theoretically be detected by a vector that enters the cell - and automatic propagation could be very helpful. Moreover, the mutation “signal” can be easily enhanced through transcriptional and translational (if the target is an intracellular protein) enhancement. Importantly, RNA
may make the best target for the molecular switches in terms of amplification of the signal and ease
of targeting.
Publisher
Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.
Subject
Cancer Research,Oncology,Molecular Medicine