Lung cancer is a particularly challenging form of cancer. It often strikes unexpectedly and aggressively with little warning, and it can shapeshift in unpredictable ways to evade treatment.
While researchers have gleaned important insights into the basic biology of lung cancer, some of the disease’s molecular maneuvers have remained elusive.
Now, a team led by scientists at Harvard Medical School has made strides in understanding how a genetic flaw in some lung cancers alters cancer cell metabolism to fuel the disease.
Working with mouse models and human cancer cells, the researchers identified a metabolic enzyme called GUK1 in lung cancers harboring an alteration in the ALK gene. Their experiments showed that GUK1 plays an important role in boosting metabolism in tumor cells to help them grow.
The findings, reported Feb. 6 in Cell and supported in part by federal funding, provide a clearer picture of how metabolism works in lung cancer.
The research could set the stage for developing therapies that target GUK1 to curb cancer growth, the team said.
Lung cancer: A formidable foe
As a thoracic oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, co-first author Jaime Schneider regularly treats patients with lung cancer, and sees firsthand how aggressive and persistent the disease can be.
“A huge percentage of patients I see in the clinic do well for some period of time on the currently available therapies, but eventually relapse,” said Schneider, who is also an instructor of medicine in cell biology at HMS.
Lung cancer is the leading cause