Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and often deadly disease. Every year 1.9 Mio. cases and over 900 000 deaths are registered globally. While surgery remains the primary treatment option, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are frequently necessary but come with significant drawbacks. These systemic treatments are toxic to all cells alike, leading to severe side effects and limited efficacy. Consequently, more targeted therapies have been explored, so far with limited success. Our research team has made significant progress in this pursuit. We have developed two families of peptide-derived agents that target a key driver of CRC: the hyperactivated Wnt signaling pathway. This pathway is upregulated in 80% of CRC cases, making cancer cells more vulnerable to its inhibition. Our innovative agents inhibit the interaction between the oncogene β-catenin and an Wnt-associated transcription factor. This prevents the transcription of Wnt target genes and possibly decreases the viability of CRC cells. Most notably, our agents have been shown to inhibit Wnt signaling in cellular reporter assays, making them an ideal foundation for the development of therapeutics targeting Wnt-dependent cancers. We are now seeking to further improve our agents and validate them in mouse models. These results will help us find funders/collaborators to further pursue the development of a novel CRC therapeutic in a university spin-off.
