Alexandros Drainas
The quest to eliminate ecDNA in cancer cells
Abstract
Cancer evolves when cells accumulate genetic or epigenetic changes, leading to uncontrolled growth, immune evasion, and treatment resistance. These alterations may occur continuously, increasing cancer cell heterogeneity and providing an opportunity for adaptation to challenges such as drug treatments. A key adaptation mechanism is gene amplification, often via extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA), which can drive cancer cells towards rapid growth and drug resistance.
Hence, targeting ecDNA as a molecule can be the Achilles’ heel for cancer treatment. In our group, we are establishing methodologies for screening extrinsic and intrinsic factors that affect ecDNA maintenance. Thus, the quest to identify factors that eliminate ecDNA, while challenging, could unravel the generation of combinatorial treatments targeting ecDNA alongside genes of interest, leading to new therapeutic strategies