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Testing Targeted Therapies in Cancer using Structural DNA Alteration Analysis and Patient-Derived Xenografts
Published on: July 25, 2020
Integrated genomic analysis to identify druggable targets for pancreatic cancer
Eko Mugiyanto1,2, Wirawan Adikusuma3,4, Lalu Muhammad Irham5
1PhD Program in Clinical Drug Development of Herbal Medicine, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Abstract:
According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the standard treatment for pancreatic cancer (PC) is gemcitabine and fluorouracil. Other chemotherapeutic agents have been widely combined. However, drug resistance remains a huge challenge, leading to the ineffectiveness of cancer therapy. Therefore, we are trying to discover new treatments for PC by utilizing genomic information to identify PC-associated genes as well as drug target genes for drug repurposing. Genomic information from a public database, the cBio Cancer Genomics Portal, was employed to retrieve the somatic mutation genes of PC. Five functional annotations were applied to prioritize the PC risk genes: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; biological process; knockout mouse; Gene List Automatically Derived For You; and Gene Expression Omnibus Dataset. DrugBank database was utilized to extract PC drug targets. To narrow down the most promising drugs for PC, CMap Touchstone analysis was applied. Finally, ClinicalTrials.gov and a literature review were used to screen the potential drugs under clinical and preclinical investigation. Here, we extracted 895 PC-associated genes according to the cBioPortal database and prioritized them by using five functional annotations; 318 genes were assigned as biological PC risk genes. Further, 216 genes were druggable according to the DrugBank database. CMap Touchstone analysis indicated 13 candidate drugs for PC. Among those 13 drugs, 8 drugs are in the clinical trials, 2 drugs were supported by the preclinical studies, and 3 drugs are with no evidence status for PC. Importantly, we found that midostaurin (targeted PRKA) and fulvestrant (targeted ESR1) are promising candidate drugs for PC treatment based on the genomic-driven drug repurposing pipelines. In short, integrated analysis using a genomic information database demonstrated the viability for drug repurposing. We proposed two drugs (midostaurin and fulvestrant) as promising drugs for PC.
Insights
New treatments for pancreatic cancer (PC) were identified through genomic analysis. Midostaurin and fulvestrant show promise for PC therapy by repurposing existing drugs based on genetic targets.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genomics
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Standard pancreatic cancer (PC) treatments face challenges due to drug resistance.
- Genomic information offers potential for identifying novel PC therapeutic targets.
- Drug repurposing can accelerate the development of new cancer therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel drug targets and repurpose existing drugs for pancreatic cancer (PC) using genomic data.
- To prioritize PC-associated genes and identify druggable targets for therapeutic intervention.
- To screen and validate potential drug candidates for PC treatment through integrated analysis.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the cBio Cancer Genomics Portal to retrieve PC somatic mutation genes.
- Applied five functional annotations (KEGG, biological process, knockout mouse, GAF, GEO) to prioritize PC risk genes.
- Employed the DrugBank database for identifying druggable targets and CMap Touchstone analysis for drug screening.
Main Results:
- Identified 895 PC-associated genes, prioritizing 318 as biological PC risk genes.
- Found 216 druggable genes and 13 candidate drugs for PC via CMap analysis.
- Highlighted midostaurin (targeting PRKA) and fulvestrant (targeting ESR1) as promising repurposed drugs for PC.
Conclusions:
- Integrated genomic analysis is a viable strategy for pancreatic cancer (PC) drug repurposing.
- Midostaurin and fulvestrant demonstrate significant potential as novel therapeutic agents for PC.
- Further clinical and preclinical investigation of these repurposed drugs is warranted for PC treatment.
