STAT3 Sustains Tumorigenicity Following Mutant KRAS Ablation

Oncogenic KRAS mutations underlie some of the deadliest human cancers. Genetic or pharmacological inactivation of mutant KRAS is not sufficient for long-term control of advanced tumors. Using a conceptual framework of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, we find that CRISPR-mediated ablation of mutant KRAS can terminate tumor progression contingent on the concomitant inactivation of STAT3. STAT3 inactivation is needed to ensure that KRAS-ablated tumor cells lose their malignant identity. Mechanistically, the combined loss of mutant KRAS and STAT3 disrupts a core transcriptional program of cancer cells critical to oncogenic competence. This in turn impairs tumor growth in mice and enhances immune rejection, leading to tumor clearance. We propose that the STAT3 transcriptional program operating in cancer cells enforces their malignant identity, rather than providing classical features of transformation, and shapes cancer persistence following KRAS inactivation. Our findings establish STAT3 as a critical enforcer of oncogenic identity in KRAS-ablated tumors, revealing a key vulnerability that could be exploited for combination therapies.

The limited clinical success of KRAS inhibitors points to the need to identify means by which tumor cells maintain stemness and immune evasion. We make an unprecedented finding that the STAT3 transcription factor can sustain tumorigenicity of pancreatic cancer cells following depletion of the KRAS oncogenic driver. The results have important implications for successful therapeutic intervention.