Targeted molecular therapy on the horizon for large b-cell lymphomas

RESEARCH DETAILS

Led by Dr. Ari Melnick from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, researchers have identified a nontoxic small-molecule inhibitor that seems capable of killing human lymphoma cells.

Here's what we know: The oncogene known as BCL6 is generally associated with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). In order for DLBCL cells to survive, they need BCL6. When this gene is prevented from functioning, DLBCL cells die.

So researchers have gone looking for the right BCL6 inhibitor, and they may have found it in a compound known as 79-6, which has proven effective in killing the DLBCL cell lines.

The discovery leads researchers to believe that such small compounds, and their ability to inhibit the growth of lymphoma cells, may provide a new therapeutic route for the successful treatment of lymphomas.

PUBLICATION & SOURCES

These findings were published in the journal Cancer Cell.

Source: Medical News Today