Penn Medicine at the AACR Annual Meeting 2025
Reports and Proceedings
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 27-Apr-2025 21:08 ET (28-Apr-2025 01:08 GMT/UTC)
This new review article highlights the pivotal and paradoxical role of R-loops in maintaining genomic stability while simultaneously posing risks to it. These three-stranded nucleic acid structures, composed of an RNA:DNA hybrid and a displaced DNA strand, are now recognized not merely as byproducts of transcription but as essential regulatory elements in gene expression, DNA replication, and repair mechanisms.
A recent review published in Genes & Diseases sheds light on the complex and multifaceted role of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) in cancer progression, with a particular focus on the fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP). Traditionally recognized for its critical functions in neural development, FMRP is now emerging as a key regulator in cancer biology, influencing tumor growth, metastasis, and therapy resistance. This growing body of knowledge presents a shift in understanding how RNA metabolism can drive oncogenic processes and potentially offer novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
A deeper understanding of osteosarcoma, the most common primary malignant bone tumor affecting children and adolescents, is reshaping strategies for overcoming treatment resistance.
Lipid metabolism has emerged as a central player in the progression and therapy resistance of breast cancer, particularly the aggressive subtype known as triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This review article highlights how disruptions in lipid regulation can significantly influence the behavior of breast cancer cells, impacting their growth, metastasis, and response to treatment.
A new wave of scientific interest is spotlighting GOT2—glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase 2—as a compelling therapeutic target in the fight against pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal and treatment-resistant malignancies. This mitochondrial enzyme, deeply embedded in glutamine metabolism, plays a central role in sustaining cancer cell survival and growth. By regulating the malate-aspartate shuttle, GOT2 maintains cellular redox balance, generates essential metabolic intermediates, and influences energy production pathways that fuel tumor proliferation.
Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC), a rare yet highly aggressive malignancy, continues to represent a major clinical challenge. A recent review published in Genes & Diseases offers a comprehensive overview of the molecular mechanisms, diagnostic approaches, and therapeutic strategies driving current and future management of this lethal disease. ATC, accounting for a small percentage of thyroid cancers, progresses rapidly and resists conventional therapies, underscoring the urgency for innovative treatment paradigms.