Proteins Found in Cancer Extracellular Vesicles Could Guide Drug Development

Cancer cells release tiny biological packages called extracellular vesicles (EVs) that help tumors grow and spread. A team led by Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University investigators has now connected certain proteins carried in these EVs with poor patient outcomes in multiple cancer types.

Their findings were published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles.

“By identifying these proteins, we aim to uncover new targets for drugs that could be used to treat many types of cancer,” said Sungyong You, PhD, professor of Urology and Computational Biomedicine and corresponding author of the study.

Investigators analyzed data from more than 2,200 patients with 12 different cancer types. They linked 26 specific proteins present in EVs from these patients to poor survival. The standout across multiple tumor types was a protein called PTK7. The analysis also showed that blocking PTK7 effectively stops cancer cell growth, highlighting it as a promising target for therapies.

“These findings provide a powerful new blueprint for using EV data to guide cancer drug testing and applications,” said Robert Figlin, MD, interim director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer. “The proteins identified can guide the development of novel therapies and the repurposing of existing drugs for new cancer treatments.”

Source – Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University