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A framework for fibrolamellar carcinoma research and clinical trials
Journal article   Peer reviewed

A framework for fibrolamellar carcinoma research and clinical trials

Timothy A. Dinh, Alan F. Utria, Kevin C. Barry, Rosanna Ma, Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, John D. Gordan, Elizabeth M. Jaffee, John D. Scott, Jessica Zucman-Rossi, Allison F. O'Neill, …
Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology, Vol.19(5), pp.328-342
05/01/2022
DOI: 10.1038/s41575-022-00580-3
PMCID: PMC9516439
PMID: 35190728
url
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/9516439View
Open Access

Abstract

In this Roadmap, Furth, Sethupathy and colleagues discuss advances in our understanding of the mechanisms and treatments of fibrolamellar carcinoma, a rare hepatic cancer that primarily occurs in adolescents and young adults. Recommendations for future progress in research and clinical trials are proposed. Fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC), a rare, lethal hepatic cancer, occurs primarily in adolescents and young adults. Unlike hepatocellular carcinoma, FLC has no known association with viral, metabolic or chemical agents that cause cirrhosis. Currently, surgical resection is the only treatment demonstrated to achieve cure, and no standard of care exists for systemic therapy. Progress in FLC research illuminates a transition from an obscure cancer to one for which an interactive community seems poised to uncover fundamental mechanisms and initiate translation towards novel therapies. In this Roadmap, we review advances since the seminal discovery in 2014 that nearly all FLC tumours express a signature oncogene (DNAJB1-PRKACA) encoding a fusion protein (DNAJ-PKAc) in which the J-domain of a heat shock protein 40 (HSP40) co-chaperone replaces an amino-terminal segment of the catalytic subunit of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Important gains include increased understanding of oncogenic pathways driven by DNAJ-PKAc; identification of potential therapeutic targets; development of research models; elucidation of immune mechanisms with potential for the development of immunotherapies; and completion of the first multicentre clinical trials of targeted therapy for FLC. In each of these key areas we propose a Roadmap for future progress.
Gastroenterology & Hepatology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Science & Technology

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