(RxWiki News) While no systemic treatment currently exists for liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), a series of experiments in rats has identified viable target worthy of further investigation.
A gene called LSF (Late SV40 Factor) may be a target in liver cancer that drugs could be developed to target and wipe out.
"Ask your oncologist about isoquinolinone therapy."
Every cancer has a series of common mutations that predispose the transformation from normal cell to cancer. These genes are called oncogenes. Some cancers have a unique profile with specific oncogenes for that cancer, or may share similar mutations with other, closely related cancers.
In the search for a systemic treatment for liver cancer, the LSF gene has been shown in previous studies to appear specifically in hepatocellular carcinoma.
LSF, like many oncogenes, regulates cellular growth. After completing their laboratory experiments and transplating human cancers into rats, researchers concluded that LSF inhibition is worthy of further study and remains a promising drug target.
Boston University researchers began testing 20 compounds of isoquinolinones, with one candidate quickly outperforming the others.
Factor Quinolinone Inhibitor 1 (FQI1) is the lead candidate for further study, and was proven to inhibit DNA replication of LSF in studies performed both in a laboratory setting and inside the cell.
Most notably, FQI1 increased cellular death in cancer, but did not affect normal cells.
Supplementary information provided by the publication of the study extensively documents the methods used by the team to make the isoquinolinones compounds referenced.
Research was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
The authors of the study declared that there was no financial conflict of interest in the publication of their research.
