MEC STUDY AT WASH UNIVERSITY
In 2024, cureMEC partnered with Dr. Brian Van Tine at the John T. Milliken Department of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis. Together with the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, we have awarded $150,000 to support his novel childhood cancer research project, “Defining the Surfaceome of Myoepithelial Carcinoma.”
The complex biology of these tumors and their resistance to traditional therapies underscores the need for innovative research approaches. By investigating the cell surface proteins expressed by these cancer cells, they aim to identify new therapeutic targets that could ultimately transform the way this disease is treated.
The techniques they are utilizing—mass spectrometry-based cell surface proteomics and RNA sequencing—are at the cutting edge of cancer research. These tools will allow them to define the specific cell surface protein signature of MEC, which could pave the way for new therapies, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and cellular therapies.
These are powerful new research tools that finally allow us to study MEC in depth and test potential treatments in ways that were never before possible.
Using these tools, they have already discovered several proteins on the surface of MEC cells that could be used as new targets for treatment. Some of these are already being studied in other cancers, which means there is hope for adapting existing therapies to MEC more quickly.
For the first time, we now have a roadmap of vulnerabilities in MEC. This work lays the foundation for developing precision therapies that could bring real hope to patients and families facing this devastating disease.
We are thrilled to invest early in the best novel ideas for innovative cancer research, which will help get us one step closer to our mission of finding better treatments and, ultimately, a cure for MEC.
For more information on how you or your child can participate in this research study, contact our research team.