William Y. Kim, MD, has published a study in JCO Precision Oncology that uncovered possible treatment approaches for urachal adenocarcinoma, a rare bladder cancer.
Kim, a UNC Lineberger member and associate professor in the UNC School of Medicine, was senior author of the study “Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Urachal Adenocarcinoma Reveals Commonalities With Colorectal Cancer, Including a Hypermutable Phenotype.”
Urachal adenocarcinoma occurs in less than 1 percent of all bladder cancers. The researchers said the low incidence of the disease does not allow for an evidence-based approach to treatment using clinical trials. They sought to characterize urachal adenocarcinoma using transcriptome profiling in order to identify possible new treatment strategies.
“Genomic characterization of rare tumors may help guide therapy for patients for whom clinical trials are difficult to complete because of rarity of their tumors,” Kim said.
The researchers found that urachal adenocarcinomas molecularly resemble colorectal adenocarcinomas at the level of RNA expression. Their findings support the consideration of using immune checkpoint blockade treatment as a possible therapeutic strategy for this disease.
In addition to Kim, other UNC-Chapel Hill-affiliated authors include: Jordan Kardos, Sara E. Wobker, Michael E. Woods, Matthew E. Nielsen, Angela B. Smith, Eric M. Wallen, Raj S. Pruthi, Michele C. Hayward, Katrina A. McGinty, Juneko E. Grilley-Olson, Nirali M. Patel, Karen E. Weck, Joel S. Parker, Matthew I. Milowsky and D. Neil Hayes.