Methods to identify and treat MYC-driven Renal Cell Carcinoma

Researchers at Stanford have developed methods to identify and treat MYC-driven cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). RCC is a common, aggressive type of kidney cancer and effective therapeutics are lacking. RCC is often driven by overexpression of the MYC oncogene. Recent work from the inventors has shown that MYC regulates lipogenesis (including fatty acid synthesis) to promote tumorigenesis. With this technology, the inventors identify inhibition of the fatty acid synthesis pathway as a novel therapeutic target for treatment of RCC. In addition, they have developed methods to identify MYC-driven, lipogenesis-dependent cancers. This technology may be used to identify and develop more effective therapeutics to treat RCC.

Stage of research
Using their MYC-driven RCC mouse model, the inventors have shown that inhibiting the fatty acid synthesis pathway prevents tumorigenesis and cancer progression.