"FoxM1 Inhibitor Blocks PD-L1 Protein Production for Anticancer Effect"

Dr. Goseongho Ko and Dr. Choiyongdu of the National Cancer Center
Prove Efficacy in Animal Experiments

Dr. Goseongho, Department of Cancer Biology, National Cancer Center, and Dr. Choiyongdu, Department of Convergence Technology Research, National Cancer Center (from left) (Photo by National Cancer Center)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The National Cancer Center announced on the 25th that the research team led by Dr. Seongho Ko and Dr. Yongdoo Choi demonstrated that using the Foxhead Box M1 (FoxM1) inhibitor can block the production of the programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) protein, which cancer cells use to evade attacks from immune cells, and developed an immunotherapy method utilizing this mechanism.

Cancer cells overexpress the immune checkpoint protein PD-L1 on their surface, interacting with cytotoxic T-cells, a type of immune cell, so that even if T-cells recognize the cancer cells, they cannot attack them. Accordingly, antibody-based immune checkpoint inhibitors have been developed to block the interaction between the cancer cell PD-L1 immune checkpoint protein and cytotoxic T-cells, enabling T-cells to attack cancer cells again.

However, existing antibody-based immune checkpoint inhibitors impose a significant economic burden on patients due to their high cost, and their therapeutic effects are minimal in cases where cancer cell proliferation is rapid or tumor size is large. Additionally, as the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has increased recently, serious side effects such as cardiotoxicity have also risen.

The research team led by Dr. Seongho Ko and Dr. Yongdoo Choi confirmed through animal experiments that treating cancer cells with a FoxM1 inhibitor not only prevents the cancer cells from producing the PD-L1 protein but also suppresses cancer cell proliferation and induces cancer cell death, effectively treating cancer.

In particular, in a lung cancer animal model showing resistance to immunotherapy, simultaneous administration of the FoxM1 inhibitor and immune checkpoint inhibitor resulted in significantly enhanced immunotherapy effects compared to each treatment alone. They also discovered that the FoxM1 inhibitor acts only on the FoxM1 protein, which is highly expressed in cancer cells, and that neither monotherapy nor combination therapy using the FoxM1 inhibitor causes side effects in normal tissues.

Dr. Seongho Ko stated, “The FoxM1 protein is overexpressed in various cancer types such as lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Immunotherapy using the FoxM1 inhibitor is expected to be an alternative that can dramatically improve cancer immunotherapy effects across various cancer types without side effects.” Dr. Yongdoo Choi added, “The FoxM1 inhibitor has low production costs, which will significantly reduce patients’ medical expenses and provide effective treatment to many patients. We expect to verify its clinical efficacy in the future and apply it to actual cancer treatment.”

This research was conducted with support from the National Cancer Center’s public interest cancer research project. The research results were selected as the cover paper of the latest issue of the world-renowned bio journal Advanced Science (IF 17.521). The immunotherapy combination treatment using the FoxM1 inhibitor has completed patent application and is currently under development for commercialization.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.