EGFR, which is found on most types of mammalian epithelial cells, is one of many receptors that help control cell growth. Some types of cancer, particularly lung cancer and glioblastoma, overexpress the EGFR leading to uncontrolled growth.

Learning more about the mechanism of how EGFR responds to different ligands, molecules that bind to other (usually larger) molecules, could help to design drugs less likely to lead to resistance, according to the MIT researchers.

"Thinking about more general mechanisms to target EGFR is an exciting new direction and gives you a new avenue to think about possible therapies that may not evolve resistance as easily," said Gabriela Schlau-Cohen, PhD, an associate professor of chemistry at MIT.

New mutational signatures pinpoint causes of cancer and personalize treatment
New research published on April 11 in Cancer Research has revealed a previously unknown mechanism in a common form of lung cancer that uses epigenetic...

Nivolumab/chemo combo will change lung cancer care
A new study that pairs neoadjuvant nivolumab with chemotherapy for patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer has the potential to revolutionize treatment,...

Cool imaging measures cells in motion
A new method, which involves cooling living cells at extremely fast speeds, leads to unprecedented preservation of cellular biomolecules in their natural...

Machine learning identifies genes important for cancer growth
Using machine learning, researchers have developed a method that evaluates the contributions of all possible tumor mutations to the development and progression...