Cancer Resistance Seeks Better Targeted Treatments

Mechanism behind the formation of resistance to cancer therapy in BRAF-mutated brain tumors is explored by the scientists at the University Of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. Certain brain tumors like gliomas have a specific mutation called BRAF mutation, most commonly seen in children and young adults. It was found that this rare mutation conventionally developed resistance to its targeted therapies.

Hence the study team explored the new challenges for the development of resistance in certain cancer patients. The samples of almost 14 patients were collected pre-treatment and post-treatment with the targeted medicine.

Targetted Therapies

The team using deep genetic analysis of the tumors found the presence of additional mutations that can create resistance to the targeted therapies. With this, the team is now in the process of following up on their findings and investigating new potential treatments to combat drug resistance in BRAF-mutated gliomas.

“Cancer, at its baseline, is very smart. And it’s very rare to have any kind of tumor that you can treat with a single medication. The ultimate goal is to find the right combination of medicines that can treat this cancer and then either prevent resistance or reverse resistance, with the least amount of complications. If we’re not focused on developing the next step in therapy, these patients will develop resistance, and then they’ll come back to us and we won’t have anything to offer them. We need to be forward-thinking and be ready for the next therapy that has to happen for these patients,” says CU Cancer Center member Jean Mulcahy Levy, MD, led researcher at the institute.

Source-Medindia