The potential targeted drugs for fusion genes including NRG1 in pancreatic cancer

Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2021 Oct:166:103465. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103465. Epub 2021 Aug 26.

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains an incurable disease with few treatment options Recently, promising targets have been identified and novel therapeutic drugs are currently under development in KRAS wild-type PC. It has been reported that KRAS wild-type PC has the genomic alterations such as oncogenic derivers and kinase fusions. NRG1 fusion, which encodes the neuregulin 1 and is the main ligands for ERRB3, has been identified in approximately half of younger patients with PC with KRAS wild-type tumors by RNA sequencing. There are several promising targeted therapies for NRG1 fusion-positive tumors, such as EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor, HER3, HER2 antibodies. BRAF, NTRK, and ALK fusion are also potentially actionable alterations in KRAS wild-type PC and novel therapies targeting certain aberrations have shown activity in clinical trials.

Keywords: NRG1 fusion; Pancreatic cancer; RNA sequencing.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms*
  • Neuregulin-1 / genetics
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations*

Substances

  • NRG1 protein, human
  • Neuregulin-1
  • Oncogene Proteins, Fusion
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations