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Optimising commonly used cancer therapies

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Chemotherapy affects cancer cells by putting them under stress; the result of which is either the cells no longer surviving or finding a way to recover from this stress.

New research published in the has looked at global cellular events of stress buildup and resolution in multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, after a commonly used therapeutic approach called proteasome inhibition.

By looking at changes in the -omics profiles over time, Dr Holger Auner and colleagues from Imperial College London, Institute of Cancer Research, University of Edinburgh, Francis Crick Institute and Clinical Bioinformatics Research, created a picture of the stress on the cells over time. By doing so, they identified the weaknesses this stress produces and therefore the weaknesses and vulnerability of the cells to a different form of attack.

It is this recovery phase that leaves the cells vulnerable and the research team have an idea of why and where, paving a route to improved cancer therapies. Moreover, these principles may be applied to other cancer types to optimise treatment pathways.

This work was supported by infrastructure from the À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Imperial BRC.

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  • Dr Holger Auner
    Dr Holger Auner
    Clinical Senior Lecturer
Publications
  • Temporal multiomics approach to show recovering cells are more vulnerable to specific insults