Targeting Runx3 for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer
Novel therapeutic target to prevent metastasis of pancreatic cancer.
- Stage: Target identification
- Type: Therapeutic
- Categories: Target
Technology Overview
Dr. Hingorani and colleagues have discovered that RUNX3 controls the balance between local growth and metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. By varying RUNX3 expression levels in vitro they found that RUNX3 functions to promote metastatic programs, and by silencing RUNX3 they observed decreased metastasis. In vivo experiments demonstrated that RUNX3 depletion significantly impairs the ability of tumor cells to seed and support secondary liver metastases. Importantly, Kaplan Meier survival curves revealed that human patients bearing tumors expressing high levels of RUNX3 had a significantly shorter (~50%) survival time than patients with low RUNX3 expressing tumors. This work identifies RUNX3 as a critical target for preventing pancreatic cancer metastasis.
Applications
- Pancreatic tumor therapy
Advantages
- Novel target for treatment of pancreatic cancer
Patent Information
- US 20150368646
Market Overview
- About 53,000 individuals per year are diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). It is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States with a dismal 5-year survival rate of 6%. The global pancreatic cancer market size was estimated at USD 2.22 billion in 2022 and it is expected to be worth around USD 7.91 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 13.6% between 2023 and 2032.
Investigator Overview
- Sunil Hingorani, MD, PhD, Clinical Research and Public Health Divisions: Raisbeck Endowed Chair for Pancreatic Research