Sarcomas are a rare type of tumour found in a range of soft tissues including joints, nerves, blood vessels, skeletal muscle and the gastro-intestinal tract. The molecular biology of sarcoma cells has been studied for a number of years. They are unique in undergoing very well-defined protein changes during tumour formation, making them ideal targets for antibody assays.
Despite their rarity, soft-tissue sarcomas still affect around 30,000 Europeans each year. About 50 have been identified so far, one of the most studied of which is GIST (gastro-intestinal stromal tumour). Owing to the ease in which the proteins can be identified with antibodies, sarcomas are an excellent model for research into more common tumour therapies. The results of 50% of sarcoma antibody studies have been mapped in detail, allowing researchers to begin developing novel new therapies targeting the initial molecular changes that take place in sarcoma formation.
We at Novus Biologicals have a large antibody database of cancer research products, including the c-KIT antibody. KIT acts as a transmembrane receptor for mast cell growth factor (MGF), and gain-of-function mutations in the gene are known to be expressed in GIST formation. C-KIT mutations are expressed in a range of other diseases, including myelogenous leukaemia. Studies have shown that tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI571can inhibit GIST cells in which c-KIT mutations are expressed.
A recent conference organised by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) focussed specifically on the latest sarcoma and GIST research, in particular the molecular basis of soft tissue sarcinoma formation. The conference covered various areas of interest to antibody suppliers, including improvements in functional imaging techniques, development of targeted antibody therapies and advances in non-KIT signalling.
Over 300 specialists attended the ESMO conference, with a view to developing new treatments not just against sarcomas like GIST, but a whole range of more common malignancies as well.