Dr. Yarmand Discusses Targeting ATF4 in Thyroid Cancer

Rozita Yarmand, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders-Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses targeting ATF4 in medullary thyroid cancer.

In chromosome 22, there is a tumor suppressor gene called ATF4. In mouse models, loss of ATF4 caused C-cell hyperplasia, which is associated with RET oncogene mutations. If 1 copy of ATF4 is lost, hyperplasia can occur, says Yarmand.

Using this information, the next steps would be to induce ATF4, says Yarmand, as overexpression of ATF4 has been found to lead to cancer cell death.