Study uncovers novel targetable axis in mesothelioma patients

Reviewed by James Ives, M.Psych. (Editor)Dec 26 2019

A collaborative study of researchers from Thomas Jefferson University, Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine of Temple University, University of Siena, and from the Spanish Center for the Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra have discovered a novel targetable axis in mesothelioma patients.

The finding has been published on December 19th, 2019, in the Journal of Cellular Physiology, titled "Data mining analysis of the PP2A-cell cycle axis in mesothelioma patients."

This study identifies a new clinically relevant association between ANP32E and CIP2A, two important inhibitors of one of the cell's major phosphatase PP2A, and the cell cycle cyclins/CDK complexes.

The critical components of this newly identified axis appear over-expressed in mesothelioma patients. We hypothesize that we can improve patients' survival by targeting both cyclin/CDKs and PP2A inhibitors. Our future goal is to define whether the relevance of this association might be extended to other types of solid cancer beyond mesothelioma."

Raffaella Pippa, lead author of the study

According to professor Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D., co-author of the study and director of the Sbarro Institute, "this type of discovery is key for aggressive cancers like mesothelioma. We have to find new molecular targets and new treatments that might lead us to more effective and personalized medicine."