Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) represents the third most common urologic cancer and approximately 90% of all kidney malignancies with high mortality rate. It arises from renal tubular epithelial cells and comprises different subtypes morphologically and genetically heterogeneous.The most common subtype is the clear cell RCC (ccRCC). It accounts for 70-80% of all renal malignancies representing the third most common urological cancer after prostate and bladder cancer.
On the basis of the emerging pathological roles of the RNA methylation modification m6A and the potential of targeting m6A methylation factors for cancer therapy, our group aims at identifying RNA methylation factors as novel m6A-related molecular biomarkers for ccRCC clinical management.
N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification has emerged in the recent years as a new layer of regulation controlling gene expression during normal and pathological cell fate determination, including cancer development. Specifically, proteins responsible for m6A modification have been found altered in many malignancies, included ccRCC. To this end, since 2016 we have collected tumor and normal parenchyma tissues samples from 80 patients undergoing surgery and histologically classified as ccRCC, with the aim to address the: i) evaluation of RNA methylation m6A modification levels in normal and neoplastic tissues patients diagnosed with ccRCC, to clarify if clinical outcomes may correlate with the presence of m6A levels; ii) evaluation of RNA methylation m6A-related factors expression in normal and neoplastic tissues; iii) evaluation of contribution to ccRCC phenotype; iii) evaluation of the functional relevance of RNA methylation factors in the response to conventional drug treatments.
The comprehension of the contribution of RNA methylation to ccRCC phenotype may be relevant to pave the way for the identification and design of innovative clinical approaches in this tumor.
