STUDY REVEALS HOW SOME MOLECULES INHIBIT GROWTH OF LUNG CANCER CELLS
By mapping the interlocking structures of small molecules and
mutated protein "receptors" in non-small cell lung cancer
(NSCLC) cells, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and
their colleagues have energized efforts to design molecules that
mesh with these receptors, potentially interfering with cancer
cell growth and survival.
In a study published in the March issue of Cancer Cell,
researchers led by Michael Eck, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber used
X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of two mutated
forms of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in lung
cancer cells. EGFR, a protein known as a tyrosine kinase, plays
a key role in relaying growth signals within cells. When
mutated, it can become overactive, leading to excessive cell
division and cancer.
"It turns out that in some cases, the very mutation that causes
the cancer in the first place is also the cancer's Achilles'
heel," said Eck, the paper's senior author. . . .
Mutations in the EGFR kinase domain occur in approximately 16
percent of NSCLCs, but at much higher frequencies in selected
populations, including nonsmokers, women,
