Identification of HDAC9 as a viable therapeutic target for the treatment of gastric cancer

Abstract

Stomach cancer: identifying the right target Inhibiting histone deacetylase 9 (HDAC9), a protein that regulates gene expression, reduces stomach cancer cell growth. The efficacy of current treatments for stomach cancer is limited. Although HDACs have emerged as promising therapeutic targets, non-selective HDAC inhibitors can cause severe side effects. Shigang Ding at Peking University Third Hospital in Beijing, China, and colleagues found that human stomach cancer cells have significantly higher levels of HDAC9 than other members of the HDAC family and that high HDAC9 levels are associated with reduced patient survival. Interfering with the production of HDAC9 protein improved the efficacy of the chemotherapeutic drug cisplatin in mice with stomach cancer. The authors suggest that selective HDAC9 inhibitors could help to improve the survival of patients with this type of cancer.