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Video

What are the gene mutations that we currently have targeted drugs for?

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Learn about gene mutations that have targeted drugs for in this HealthTree University lesson by a cancer specialist.

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Transcript

What are the gene mutations that we currently have targeted drugs for? Three therapeutics that are kind of furthest along. There's an inhibitor of a gene called FLIT3 and several iterations of agents targeting FLIT3 have been developed, some better than others in terms of how effective they are and their toxicity profile. Then I mentioned a little bit earlier inhibitors against IDH1 or IDH2. Again, these are genes that are important for the taking off of methylation from DNA and inhibit that pathway, so it's more of an epigenetic strategy. The last one is a gene called JAK2 where you have an activating mutation, an oncogene, that can block the signal from that JAK2 mutation from constantly telling that cell that we need more red blood cells, more red blood cells, more red blood cells. That's a pro-growth factor. Those three mutations have inhibitors that are really kind of far along in the pipeline. There's newer agents for different targeted therapies that are much, much earlier on in their development. Really beyond those three, we're limited with the kind of more blunt instruments that we have in terms of chemotherapy, pro-apoptotic agents like venetoclax, of course bone marrow transplantation for patients who are appropriate for it, and then clinical trials.

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