Fighting against cancer: one step further

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The CNIO (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas) has found a new possible pharmacological target against one of the most important and evasive oncogene: c-MYC

The MYC oncogene is related to many types of cancer, some of which are very aggressive. For this reason, researchers suspect that controlling its activity would be the key for new treatments. Unfortunately, research in this oncogene are stuck, since MYC is very  resistant to therapeutic manipulation.

Looking for possible indirect solutions, Spanish researchers had identified a protein that is essential for MYC to cause cancer in mouse models: a new possible target for future anti-cancer drugs.

More about MYC:

• Is one of the main proteins that regulate gene expression in cells
• Most of regulating proteins act on <1% of the genes in the genome
• MYC regulates + 15% (2.000-3.000 genes)!!

• Intervenes in many cellular functions:
• Cellular growth
• Proliferation
• Differentiation
• Apoptosis

What's more, the head of the CNIO's Epithelial Carcinogenesis Group has also said   "MYC is really a general controller of cell activity; it is one of the few genes, that if eliminated, makes cells unviable"

• When deregulated, it promotes the formation of multiple types of cancer:
• Pancreas
• Colon
• Ovary
• Lymphomas

• It is altered in >50% of human cancers. And often associated with very aggressive tumors -> reason for being targeted 

The identified gene is called BPTF. When BPTF becomes inactive, cells do not grow, so it's a potentially important gene in cancer. This has also been explained in the published article by the researchers: "we saw that when we perturbed the function of BPTF, this affected many genes that are known to depend on MYC; this led us to think that MYC needs BPTF for tis biological functions". Indeed, in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer dependent on MYC they have showed that by inhibiting the action of BPTF, the aggressiveness of the tumors is reduced.

If you're interested in this study and you want to know more details, I give you the URL where you can found the entire article published 5th January 2016 in Nature Communications:

BPTF is required for c-MYC transcriptional activity and in vivo tumorigenesis

Carlos Matallanas and ALS

Some of you probably have already bought all your Christmas presents. But for those of you who are waiting for a good gift, I can show you an option.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease characterized by neuronal death. The cause is not fully known, but there is percentage that is inherited. There is not a cure right now and most people die due to respiratory failure. The disease mainly affects muscles and that's why there is stiffness and weakness.

This disease happened to a young journalist, Carlos Matallanas that one day he went to the doctor after felling some weird sensations in his tonge and his speach. He didn't suffer any shock, even knowing the end of this pathology. For this reason, he started writting a blog in which he tries to explain how he feels and how the ALS is being gradually affecting his day.


As I told you before, the cause of this disease is unknown and it is important to have some research about this topic. He decided, as a patient, to start writting a book telling all his experiences. All the benefits obtained will be given to finance a research involving the genetical analysis of the patients suffering this condition. The book cost 15 euros and it is available in Vips and El Corte Inglés.

In his blog, he also tries to make people aware of this disease by posting some informative and educational post. http://blogs.elconfidencial.com/alma-corazon-vida/mi-batalla-contra-la-ela/


He never felt tired and he never has decided to give up, for this reason I consider that as medical students we should try to contribute in discovering more and more in order to help our patients in the future.