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Brachyury

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Cancer Therapeutic Targets

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Abstract

The switch of human carcinoma cells from an epithelial to a mesenchymal-like phenotype is now being recognized as a potentially important process along the metastasis of solid tumors. The phenotypic switch, termed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), has also been associated with resistance of carcinoma cells to chemotherapy, radiation, and some small-molecule-targeted therapies. Brachyury is a T-box transcription factor that has recently been identified as a driver of the EMT process in human carcinoma cells. Overexpression of brachyury in epithelial cancer cells has been shown to drive the acquisition of a mesenchymal-like tumor phenotype, a more migratory and invasive phenotype, and a greater resistance to chemotherapy and radiation. Preferentially expressed in human tumor tissues while being absent in the majority of adult normal tissues, brachyury exhibits a highly tumor-associated pattern of expression and has now been correlated with poor prognosis in multiple tumor types. Preclinical data as well as evaluation of antigen-specific responses in the blood of cancer patients have demonstrated that brachyury is an immunogenic molecule. Based on those results, recombinant vaccine vectors targeting the transcription factor brachyury have been developed and are undergoing clinical evaluation in patients with advanced carcinomas. We anticipate that these vaccines could help eliminate tumor cells highly metastatic and prone to survive most of the currently available therapeutic agents.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Claudia Palena

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  1. Claudia Palena
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Correspondence to Claudia Palena .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology & Oncology, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    John L. Marshall

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Palena, C. (2017). Brachyury. In: Marshall, J. (eds) Cancer Therapeutic Targets. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0717-2_42

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