Dr. Fine on Therapeutic Metabolic Targets in Brain Cancer

Howard Fine, MD, Weill Cornell Medicine, discusses the importance of novel metabolic targets, such as IDH mutations, in the field of neuro-oncology. Mutations in IDH result in an altered metabolic state, in which production of the oncometabolite 2-HG is increased. This leads to dysregulation of genetic and epigenetic processes, leading to oncogenesis.

The metabolism of tumor tissue is very different from that in other tissue. That difference offers an area that can be used to develop more therapeutic targets. Although it is unlikely that another IDH-type mutations will be discovered, the differences between tumors and normal tissue are ideal targets, as inhibition of these markers would have less of an impact on healthy tissue, Fine notes

Tumor metabolism is very complex series of pathways, Fine notes. As the science advances, more knowledge will emerge on the molecular basis for the metabolic difference between tumor tissue and other tissue.

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