Kidney cancer gene reveals an unexpected weakness and a new path for treatment

MedicalXpress | يون 29, 2026

A common genetic mutation that helps some kidney cancers survive may also expose an unexpected weakness, one that MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researchers hope to transform into a new treatment strategy. In a study published in Cancer Research, Aguirre de Cubas, Ph.D., and colleagues have discovered that kidney cancer cells lacking the tumor suppressor gene SETD2 become highly dependent on a protein called BCL-xL for survival. By targeting that dependency, the researchers were able to selectively eliminate SETD2-deficient cancer cells in laboratory models while largely sparing cancer cells with intact SETD2. The findings identify a potential new therapeutic strategy for patients with a particularly aggressive subset of kidney cancers.