Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 15, 2026

Testing Targeted Therapies in Cancer using Structural DNA Alteration Analysis and Patient-Derived Xenografts
10:27

Testing Targeted Therapies in Cancer using Structural DNA Alteration Analysis and Patient-Derived Xenografts

Published on: July 25, 2020

Objective assessment of cancer genes for drug discovery

Mishal N Patel1, Mark D Halling-Brown, Joseph E Tym

  • 1Cancer Research UK Cancer Therapeutics Unit, The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK.

Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery
|January 1, 2013
PubMed

Insights

This study presents a computational method to systematically prioritize therapeutic targets from large gene sets, aiding drug discovery. It identifies druggable cancer proteins and suggests drug repurposing opportunities.

Area of Science:

  • Computational biology
  • Drug discovery
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Selecting effective therapeutic targets is crucial for drug discovery, especially with large gene sets from multi-omics initiatives in oncology.
  • Prioritizing these targets requires systematic, efficient, and objective computational approaches.

Approach:

  • Developed a multifaceted computational assessment framework to evaluate biological and chemical space for target prioritization.
  • Applied the approach to a set of 479 cancer-associated genes to demonstrate its utility.

Key Points:

  • Revealed the inherent conflict between biological significance and chemical tractability in target selection.
  • Highlighted significant knowledge gaps hindering objective decision-making in drug development.
  • Identified potential drug repurposing opportunities for existing therapeutics.

Conclusions:

  • The computational method provides an objective framework for prioritizing therapeutic targets.
  • Identified poorly explored, yet druggable, cancer-associated proteins for small-molecule drug development.
  • Aimed to facilitate more informed and efficient drug discovery and development processes.

More Related Videos

Assessing Specificity of Anticancer Drugs In Vitro09:39

Assessing Specificity of Anticancer Drugs In Vitro

Published on: March 23, 2016

Discovery of Driver Genes in Colorectal HT29-derived Cancer Stem-Like Tumorspheres06:52

Discovery of Driver Genes in Colorectal HT29-derived Cancer Stem-Like Tumorspheres

Published on: July 22, 2020

Related Concept Videos

Pharmacogenomics: Identification of New Drug Targets01:29

Pharmacogenomics: Identification of New Drug Targets

Advances in genomics have profoundly influenced drug discovery by increasing both the speed and accuracy of pharmaceutical development. Pharmacogenomics, which examines how genetic variation influences drug response, facilitates the identification of novel therapeutic targets and enables patient stratification for personalized treatment. These strategies contribute to improved drug efficacy, minimized adverse effects, and more efficient clinical trial design.Mapping genetic differences...
Cancer02:18

Cancer

Cancers arise due to mutations in genes involved in the regulation of cell division, which leads to unrestricted cell proliferation. Modern science and medicine have made great strides in the understanding and treatment of cancer, including eradicating cancer in some patients. However, there is still no cure for cancer. This is largely due to the fact that cancer is a large group of many diseases.
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes01:05

Cancer-Critical Genes II: Tumor Suppressor Genes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes01:33

Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes01:33

Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes

Genes usually encode proteins necessary for the proper functioning of a healthy cell. Mutations can often cause changes to the gene expression pattern, thereby altering the phenotype.
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...