New research published in Cancer Cell found genetically manipulating and removing the mutant form of the p53 gene tumor growth and tissue invasion is reduced.
Here are four takeaways from the study:
1. Researches assessed one of the three most common p53 mutations in colorectal cancer (mutp53 R248Q), and exchanged an Arginine for a Glutamine in mice with the disease.
2. They found ablating the mutant gene slowed tumor growth and invasiveness by 50 percent.
3. The researchers also found mutant p53 binds and activates to Stat3, a key tumor promoter, leading to poor outcomes in both mice and humans.
4. "We discovered that in p53-mediated colorectal cancer driven by the most common mutant form of p53, there is an exploitable tumor dependence on continued expression of the mutant protein for the tumors to thrive. Our data suggest that this and similar p53 mutants represent actionable drug targets responsive to treatment by removal," the authors concluded.
Click here to read the full study.