Dr. Abdulkadir on the Challenges of Targeting MYC in Prostate Cancer

Sarki A. Abdulkadir, MD, PhD, John T. Grayhack, MD, Professor of Urologic Research, vice chair for research, professor of urology and pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses the challenges of targeting MYC in prostate cancer.

Historically, MYC was thought to be an undruggable protein, says Abdulkadir. Currently, no MYC-targeting agents have been approved.

MYC was thought to be undruggable because it is a disordered protein, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed structure, Abdulkadir explains. As such, it is difficult to develop a compound that can target any pocket of the protein, adds Abdulkadir.

Additionally, it was thought that even if a MYC inhibitor was developed and administered, patients would not tolerate it because MYC is expressed on normal tissue cells, as well as cancer cells, concludes Abdulkadir.