Hundreds of potential drug targets for cancer identified

A massive study analysing gene expression data from 22 tumour types has identified hundreds of potential drug targets to starve cancer tumours.
The potential drug targets can cut off a tumour's fuel supply or interfere with its ability to synthesise essential building blocks.
The analysis, conducted by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, also identified multiple metabolic expression changes associated with cancer.
"The importance of this new study is its scope," said Dennis Vitkup, the study's lead investigator.
"So far, people have focused mainly on a few genes involved in major metabolic processes. Our study provides a comprehensive, global view of diverse metabolic alterations at the level of gene expression," said Vitkup.

"Although a list of biochemical pathways in normal cells was comprehensively mapped during the last century. We still lack a complete understanding of their usage, regulation, and reprogramming in cancer," said Vitkup.

"Right now we have something like a static road map. We know where the streets are, but we don't know how traffic flows through the streets and intersections.
"What researchers need is something similar to Google Traffic, which shows the flow and dynamic changes in car traffic," said Jie Hu, a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia and first author of the study.
The research is an important step toward achieving this dynamic view of cancer metabolism.

Notably, the researchers found that the tumour-induced expression changes are significantly different across diverse tumours.
Although some metabolic changes - such as an increase in nucleotide bio-synthesis and glycolysis - appear to be more frequent across tumours, others, such as changes in oxidation phosphorylation, are heterogeneous.
"Our study clearly demonstrates that there are no single and universal changes in cancer metabolism," said Matthew Vander Heiden, assistant professor at MIT, and a co-author of the study.
"That means that to understand transformation in cancer metabolism, researchers will need to consider how different tumour types adapt their metabolism to meet their specific needs," Heiden said.