US Pharm. 2018;43(5)(Specialty&Oncology suppl):16-18.
Ewing sarcoma, the second most frequent bone cancer among children and adolescents, is characterized by its aggressiveness and tendency to metastasize. Researchers are currently working on nanoengineering a molecule capable of blocking EphA2 and delivering drugs in a targeted way.
The sarcoma research group of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) in Spain, led by Dr. Òscar Martínez-Tirado, has identified a potential new therapeutic target for the disease. The research, published in International Journal of Cancer, has been funded almost entirely by the Alba Pérez Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to this disease.
For years, the focus of the research group on Ewing sarcoma centered on the caveolin 1 protein (CAV1), which has been associated with treatment resistance and metastasis, among other issues. However, the location of this protein in the cell makes its use as a therapeutic target virtually impossible. “That is why we were looking for a CAV1 cofactor with an equally relevant role but a more accessible location,” said Dr. Martínez-Tirado, “and the EphA2 membrane receptor, already described in previous studies, meets these requirements.”
In their latest work, researchers not only demonstrate the connection between the EphA2 receptor and caveolin 1, but also establish a correlation between the phosphorylation of EphA2 and the aggressiveness of tumors in Ewing sarcoma. “In several in vitro and in vivo tests, we observed that this membrane receptor plays a key role in the migration of tumor cells.”
