Mutations present in a blood cancer known as follicular lymphoma have
revealed new molecular targets for potential treatments, according to
researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) together with
collaborators at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Follicular lymphoma is a common type of blood cancer and one of the most common non-Hodgkin lymphomas, with more than 2,500 people diagnosed in the UK every year.
Dr Jessica Okosun from QMUL's Barts Cancer Institute said: "One of the mutations
that we have identified allows follicular lymphoma tumors to turn on
growth signals regardless of whether nutrients are available, thereby
evading normal restrictions on its growth.
"Remarkably, the mutations we have discovered have not been seen in
other cancer types. However, drugs that directly target this
nutrient-sensing mechanism are currently used to treat other types of
cancer, and may benefit patients with follicular lymphoma."
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