Cancer Research UK-funded scientists, based at the University of Cambridge, found lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) cells contained high amounts of a protein called BCL11A. The study showed that manipulating the gene responsible for the protein stopped the development of LUSC in a mouse model of the disease.
The study also revealed a signalling pathway that BCL11A was involved in, and found a potential druggable target, called SETD8. Targeting this molecule both genetically and with early forms of drugs, selectively targeted LUSC cancer cells growing in the lab, and in LUSC cells transplanted into mice.
