Taiwanese researchers have linked higher survival rates and decreased tumor spread in patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung to a gene, the National Health Research Institute said on Friday.
This research clarifies the mechanism of lung adenocarcinoma’s spread and has implications for cancer treatment, it said.
Adenocarcinoma of the lung accounted for 40 percent to 50 percent of all cases of lung cancer, the most prevalent cause of death in Taiwan, according to government data.
Photo courtesy of the National Health Research Institute
A study led by institute associate investigator Lin Wen-jye (林文傑) discovered via bioinformatics that the expression of the DUSP22 gene is linked to better outcomes for lung adenocarcinoma patients, the institute said.
The research team drew on US-based studies on the genetic lineage of cancer cells, it said.
The DUSP22 gene encodes dual specificity protein phosphatase 22, an enzyme that plays a key role in regulating epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) and the downstream extracellular signal-regulated kinases pathways in lung adenocarcinoma cells, it said.
This means cancer cells lacking the gene’s expression are susceptible to tyrosine kinase inhibitors affecting the EGFR, pointing to new possibilities for targeted therapy, it said.
DUSP22 expression could potentially be applied to predict tumor severity and its responsiveness to treatments, allowing doctors to strategize treatment plans more effectively, it said.
The research could also open new doors to future studies into the role the DUSP22 gene plays in cancer cell drug resistance, microenvironment and metastasis, the institute said.
The research team’s findings deepened scientific understanding of mechanisms enabling lung adenocarcinoma progression and opened new doors to potential therapeutic approaches, it said.
The study was published in Cell Death Discovery in July last year, the institute said.
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