Washington University in St. Louis

In 2024, cureMEC partnered with Dr. Brian Van Tine at Washington University in St. Louis to launch his pioneering project: Defining the Surfaceome of Myoepithelial Carcinoma. 

Dr. Van Tine’s team is studying the proteins found on the surface of MEC cells to identify new targets for treatment. Using cutting-edge tools like proteomics and RNA sequencing, they are mapping MEC’s unique biology and paving the way for therapies such as antibody-drug conjugates and cellular therapies.

Already, the team has:

• Expanded and validated an MEC patient-derived xenograft model

• Developed the world’s first MEC cell line from this PDX

• Established a second MEC cell line from an independent patient sample

• Identified promising protein targets that overlap with treatments under study in other cancers

For the first time, researchers have powerful tools to study MEC in depth—opening the door to precision therapies and new hope for patients and families.