Casting a lure for EGFR ligands

Researchers at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have identified an EGFR-mimicking peptide that lures ligands away from the receptor, thus preventing its activation and halting tumor growth.¹ Although toxicity and pharmacokinetic studies are still pending, this decoy should be cheaper to manufacture than EGFR-targeting antibodies and could have greater specificity than small molecules.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in many cancers, in which activation by its endogenous ligands, such as epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor-a (TGFA; TGF-a), aids tumor cell growth and proliferation. EGFR-targeting cancer therapies on the market or in development are either antibodies or small molecule kinase inhibitors that bind the receptor to prevent its activation (see Table 1, "Advanced EGFR space")...