Is It Possible To Prevent Common Oral Cancers By Blocking Or Deleting A Protein?

Oral squamous cell carcinoma, the most prevalent type of head and neck cancer, frequently begins innocuously, as do many other cancers. For example, a small white patch in the mouth or a small red bump on the gums. It's simple to dismiss or minimize. But then something happens, as the little splotch grows and burrows into connective tissue, becoming more ominous.

Patients who see a dentist before things get out of hand have a better chance of preventing malignant tumors from developing—or at the very least, ensuring that treatment begins when it's most effective. For those who aren't so fortunate, the prognosis is bleak: oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has a five-year survival rate of roughly 66 percent. More than 10,000 Americans die of oral cancer every year; smokers and drinkers are the hardest hit.

Researchers at Boston University's Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine have discovered that reducing — or even genetically deleting — a protein that appears to promote cancer growth can help limit tumor growth and spread. They claim that their findings make the protein, lysine-specific demethylase 1, a viable "druggable target" for chemo and immuno-oncology medicines to target in the fight against cancer. The revelation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, could save people's lives in the future if they don't get preventative care.

Manish V. Bais, a principal author of the study and an SDM assistant professor of translational dentistry medicine, adds, "These findings have major implications for new and perhaps more effective therapy for oral cancer patients. This research is a crucial milestone in the development of the field."

“Dental schools have an advantage over traditional cancer centers when it comes to investigating the science behind the development of OSCC,” says Maria Kukuruzinska, SDM’s associate dean for research and a co-author of the study, “because we can get access to premalignant lesions, where cancer centers basically just see patients who are presenting with fully developed disease.”

Antitumor Immunity: Assisting the Body's Fight

According to Bais, once OSCC has taken hold, there is little prospect of it being totally eradicated. Clinicians can use chemotherapy, radiation, and even surgery to remove a tumor “But there is no cure—you can shrink the tumor, but not eliminate it,” he says. Bais had previously discovered that lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1)—an enzyme that normally plays a critical role in normal cell and embryo development—goes out of control, or is “inappropriately upregulated,” including in the head and neck, as well as those in the brain, esophagus, liver, and lung.