Metabolic vulnerabilities of MYC-induced cancer

Renal cell carcinoma is often an untreatable disease suggesting that novel therapeutic approaches are required. We have found that, surprisingly, MYC-associated renal cell carcinoma may exhibit dependence upon specific metabolic programs with a unique vulnerability to glutamine inhibition.

Further, we show that MYC-induced RCC exhibit a dramatically altered lipid profile. Both observations are a consequence of MYC altering metabolic programs to enable highly proliferating cells to adapt to highly stressful circumstances, such as hypoxia. Necessarily, this results in tumor cells becoming uniquely vulnerable to the inhibition of these specific pathways as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer.

Oncotarget. 2016 Feb 06 [Epub ahead of print]

Arvin M Gouw, Georgia G Toal, Dean W Felsher

Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Departments of Medicine and Pathology, CA, USA. , Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Departments of Medicine and Pathology, CA, USA. , Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Departments of Medicine and Pathology, CA, USA.

PubMed