Could blocking or deleting a protein help prevent common oral cancers?

Patients who are lucky enough to see a dentist early enough have a shot at being able to prevent the lesions from turning cancerous—or can at least make sure treatment starts when it’s most effective. But for those who aren’t that lucky, the outlook can be bleak: the five-year survival rate of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is around 66 percent.

According to a news release by Eureka Alert, “Researchers at Boston University’s Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine have found that dialling back – or even genetically deleting – a protein that seems to spur the cancer’s growth might help limit a tumour’s development and spread. They say their findings make the protein, an enzyme called lysine-specific demethylase 1, a potential ‘druggable target’ – something that doctors could aim chemo and immuno-oncology therapies at to take down a tumour. The study was published in February in Molecular Cancer Research.”