Descrizione del progetto
Nuovi ruoli degli agonisti dei recettori della niscarina nel trattamento del cancro pancreatico
L’adenocarcinoma duttale pancreatico (PDAC, Pancreatic Ductal AdenoCarcinoma) è uno dei tipi di cancro più letali, con un tasso di sopravvivenza a cinque anni inferiore al 5 %. L’obiettivo del progetto REPANCAN, finanziato dall’UE, consiste nel ridurre i costi elevati e il lungo tempo di sviluppo dei nuovi farmaci utilizzando il concetto di riproposizione dei farmaci per una classe di agonisti dei recettori della niscarina. In precedenza, i recettori della niscarina hanno dimostrato un’attività come soppressori tumorali nel cancro al seno e i suoi agonisti potrebbero colpire l’invasività, la sopravvivenza, il metabolismo e il microambiente tumorale delle cellule associate al PDAC. Il progetto combinerà bioinformatica e approcci di ricerca cellulare e molecolare con l’intento di stabilire un terreno solido per la riproposizione di farmaci a basso costo di comprovata sicurezza, per trattare uno dei tipi di cancro più letali e scarsamente studiati.
Obiettivo
The main objective of the REPANCAN is to integrate Jelena Grahovac, PhD at the Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, as a leader of a project that will address an urgent unmet need for new treatment strategy for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PDAC is one of the most lethal types of cancer in the world, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5% and an increasing incidence rate. Research on PDAC is limited and progress in patient survival has not been made in the last 40 years. To circumvent the high costs and long development times for new oncological drugs, the REPANCAN project will use the drug repurposing concept and establish a novel use for a class of nischarin (NISCH) receptor agonists. NISCH receptor itself has been shown to be a tumor suppressor in breast cancer and its agonists hold promise for targeting several aspects of the PDAC pathology: cell invasiveness, survival, metabolism, and the microenvironment. To address the acute demand for novel PDAC therapy, the REPANCAN project will integrate the bioinformatic, molecular and cellular research with the retrospective patient study though 3 research objectives: 1) Examination of levels of NISCH in patient tumor samples and in vitro model systems, 2) Establishment of mechanisms by which clinically approved NISCH agonists can limit PDAC growth and 3) Retrospective analysis of effects of NISCH agonist treatment on PDAC progression in patients. To strengthen the competence of Dr Grahovac and use cutting edge technologies in REPANCAN, a secondment at Dr Peter Carmeliet’s laboratory at VIB-KU Leuven is planned. REPANCAN will establish a novel prognostic marker, novel drug target and a ground for repurposing of low-cost drugs proven to be safe in one of the most lethal and understudied types of cancer.
Campo scientifico
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologyprostate cancer
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineradiology
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologybreast cancer
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepathology
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologypancreatic cancer
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
11000 Belgrade
Serbia