Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The most common form is non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, which accounts for most lung cancer cases and around one in five cancer deaths globally.
Although treatments have improved greatly over the past decade, many patients still have few effective options, especially when their tumors carry uncommon genetic changes.
Now, researchers led by scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a promising new treatment strategy that may help people with a rare but difficult-to-treat type of lung cancer. Their findings were published in the journal Cancer Discovery.
Cancer begins when normal cells develop changes in their DNA that allow them to grow without control. One of the most common genes involved in NSCLC is KRAS. This gene normally helps control cell growth, but when it becomes mutated it can constantly send signals telling cells to keep dividing.
For many years KRAS was considered almost impossible to target with medicines. Recently, drugs for the common KRAS G12C mutation have become available, but patients with other KRAS mutations have been left behind.
The new study focused on KRAS codon 13 mutations, particularly KRAS G13C. Although these mutations make up only about 5% to 7% of KRAS-mutant NSCLC, researchers estimate that more than 11,000 people worldwide each year could benefit if an effective targeted treatment is developed.
The international team, led by Dr. Colin Lindsay and Professor Angeliki Malliri, found that KRAS codon 13 mutations behave differently from more common KRAS mutations. They often work together with other harmful gene changes, including BRAF, NF1, STK11 and KEAP1, helping tumors grow more aggressively.
The researchers worked with Revolution Medicines to test an experimental drug called RMC-8839. The medicine was designed to switch off the abnormal KRAS G13C signal that drives cancer growth. Laboratory experiments showed that the drug successfully reduced cancer cell growth.
The biggest surprise came when scientists combined the drug with standard chemotherapy. Tumors carrying the KRAS G13C mutation appeared much more sensitive to chemotherapy than expected. When both treatments were used together, many tumors shrank dramatically and some disappeared completely in laboratory cancer models.
Researchers believe this discovery could lead to a new precision medicine approach. Precision medicine means choosing treatment based on the exact genetic changes inside a patient’s cancer rather than treating all lung cancers the same way.
Because the research began with observations made in real patients, the scientists hope the move into human studies can happen relatively quickly.
This study provides strong laboratory evidence that KRAS G13C lung cancers behave differently from other KRAS-driven cancers and may respond well to a combination of a targeted drug and chemotherapy. However, the results are based on preclinical research, not patients.
Clinical trials are still needed to confirm whether the treatment is safe and improves survival in people. Even so, the work is an important step toward precision medicine, where treatment is matched to the genetic changes inside each person’s cancer rather than using the same approach for everyone.
If you care about lung health, please read studies about marijuana’s effects on lung health, and why some non-smokers get lung disease and some heavy smokers do not.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that olive oil may help you live longer, and vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
Source: The University of Manchester.
