Ann: Operational Update March Quarter, page-3

Something new from today’s update…

Some of the hits (i.e from PYC's iMYC development program) selectively bind to N-Myc and some bind to c-Myc, while others have a universal binding specificity for both Myc target proteins, illustrating increased versatility. For example, the ability to bind N-Myc selectively, provides the opportunity to more specifically target an even wider variety of tumours including neuroblastoma.

Ability to target either c-MYC or N-MYC certainly opens up a wide range of cancers for possible treatment.

… despite the fact that Myc genes may share related targets, they at the same time retain other, unique ones and are exclusively overexpressed in certain tumor types, suggesting that they may have independent and tissue-specific functions....

C-myc is causally implicated in Burkitt lymphoma …. C-myc is also overexpressed in a wide range of malignancies including the majority of breast cancers, colon cancers, gynaecologic cancers, hepatocellular carcinomas, and a variety of hematologic tumors, making C-myc one of the most commonly altered oncogenes in human cancer....

N-myc is primarily implicated in high-grade neuroendocrine tumors (neuroblastoma and small-cell carcinomas) and those arising from the neural system (neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, and glioblastoma).

http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/content/molcanres/12/6/815.full.pdf