New Research Indicating LMKT3 Inhibitors as Likely Effective BreastCancerTherapy

Posted by Cancer Center at Wise Regional on December 24th, 2020

The structure of Lemur Tyrosine Kinase 3 (LMTK3) has been discovered to be an oncogenic target. With this discovery, researchers are striving to develop oral inhibitors of the gene, which can then be used to treat various cancers, including breast cancer.

The research results from the collaboration of scientists from three countries and has not only managed to reliably provide the answer to the structure of the gene but also show that it can be targeted in therapy treatments for breast cancer. 

More significantly, a team of researchers have developed a novel inhibitor that proved to be effective in inhibiting LMTK3 in breast cancer cells in mice models. Further research into the study promises to provide a new therapy that would be effective in treating breast cancer and tumors in the bladder, lung, thyroid, and stomach. 

Previous research had shown a strong correlation between the LMTK3 and the occurrence and growth of tumors, but as the research team noted, it does not show up in commercial kinase screening tests. 

The LMTK3 has been proven to be an active protein kinase by the research conducted, which means that LMTK3 is crucial in regulating cell structure processes. This, according to Professor Georgios Giamas, who was the lead researcher. 

The research team is at the moment in coming up with drugs specific to LMTK3, projecting possible clinical trials in the next five years.

Oral LMTK3 inhibitors developed may then be used alone or alongside other therapies such as immunotherapy or chemotherapy to treat cancer. If used as a combinational therapy, the LMTK3 inhibitors may improve the efficiency of other treatments.

This research has been heralded as a great illustration of what can be achieved with scientists' collaboration internationally.

About Author

North Texas Cancer Center at Wise, a division of Choice Cancer Care, is now operating as the Cancer Center at Wise Regional and is one of the most renowned cancer treatment centers in Texas.