T lymphocytes like the one in the photo are the bullies of the immune system . These blood cells destroy the malignant cells that our body generates and also those that have been infected by viruses and other pathogens. In addition, they regulate the defensive activity of other cells of the immune system without which we would be dead in a short time. But, like aggressive dogs, they sometimes get out of control and can do us a lot of harm.
In some cases, T lymphocytes undergo genetic alterations that transform them from protective agents into tumor- causing agents, including the dreaded peripheral T-cell lymphomas, with a survival rate of only 30% and very difficult to diagnose.
Now, an international team including the laboratory of Dr. Xosé Bustelo, from the Cancer Research Center (CIC-IBMCC), a mixed organization of the CSIC and the University of Salamanca, has identified several genes that are frequently altered in lymphomas peripheral T cells “of unclear origin”, which account for a third of cases.
More effective treatments against lymphomas
The finding is important because discovering the genetic alterations that cause these cancers will help improve your diagnosis and develop more powerful drugs to treat them. Peripheral T-cell lymphomas have a high incidence (10% to 15% of tumors that originate in blood cells) and are characterized by their malignancy and aggressiveness. They are very resistant to conventional therapies, and when they succumb to them, the possibility of them reproducing is very high.
This work, published in the scientific journal PNAS, highlights the importance of mutations of the VAV1 proto-oncogene in the onset of the disease. Dr. Javier Robles, a member of Dr. Bustelo’s team, explains that “given that the VAV1 oncoprotein has a biological activity that could be inhibited with drugs, these findings establish a possible target for the development of more effective pharmacological treatments against this disease in the long term. “.
The researchers note that these tumors present numerous and heterogeneous genetic alterations. For this reason, “depending on the type of mutations they harbor, there will be people with different clinical behaviors both in their evolution and in the response to treatments.” This complexity implies that the study should be extended to a large number of patients in order to be able to assign each one a specific treatment.
