Scientists have discovered a new therapeutic target for lung cancer through the KRAS gene in a recent lung cancer study.

Specifically, the new lung cancer study may provide more insight into the gene responsible for the most aggressive subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and could bring hope for asbestos cancer patients.

About the Lung Cancer Study

Led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers, the lung cancer study has identified a new way to target lung cancer through the KRAS gene, one of the most commonly mutated genes in human cancer and one researchers have so far had difficulty targeting successfully.

In the lung cancer study, researchers studied the underlying biology of KRAS in lung cancer and determined that activity resulting from the ACSL3 gene is essential for these lung cancer cells to survive, and that suppressing ACSL3 causes these lung cancer cells to die.

The findings are significant because genetic mutations of KRAS occur in about 30 percent of lung cancer cases, and they are associated with aggressive, therapy-resistant disease with a poor prognosis

Study May Help Those with Asbestos Cancer

The lung cancer study may bring hope to many patients who suffer asbestos-related cancers, including lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral. Asbestos fibers are so small that they can be seen only with the help of microscope. Until a few decades back, asbestos was used extensively in a variety of construction and industrial products in order to strengthen them and to add fire resistance and heat insulation properties to them.

Though it has been established that exposure to asbestos can cause lung cancer — and the greater the exposure to asbestos, the greater the risk that asbestos lung cancer will crop up — lung cancer isn’t the only health problem linked to asbestos exposure.

Exposure to Asbestos

Exposure to asbestos fibers could cause fatal diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma if they are breathed in. The risk increases with the amount of asbestos fibers inhaled. Additionally, the risk increases further when asbestos inhalation combines with smoking.

Asbestos exposure may also cause diseases such as asbestosis and pleural plaques. Asbestos-related diseases generally appear two to four decades after the victim’s initial asbestos exposure.

Asbestos exposure symptoms vary with each individual. Because of the latent nature of asbestos-related diseases, regular screening tests should be performed on those who may have been exposed.

Filing an Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawsuit

Anyone who developed an asbestos-related disease because of exposure has legitimate grounds to consider an asbestos lung cancer lawsuit against the manufacturers of asbestos products related to the exposure.

For many people diagnosed with asbestos lung cancer or another asbestos disease, compensation from filing an asbestos lung cancer lawsuit may mean that they get the financial help necessary to get the best medical treatment. It also helps take care of their loved ones and families.

Filing an asbestos lung cancer lawsuit can help deflect the considerable costs of treatment, compensate for emotional and physical hardship, and make sure companies responsible for the exposure are held accountable.