The project aims to reveal the biology of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and its mitochondrial regulation through a multi-omics approach by examining MYC-related mitomiRs obtained from patients diagnosed with SCLC and from cell models to be established. The project team includes Associate Professor Dr. Onur Tokgün, faculty member of the Department of Medical Genetics at Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine; Prof. Dr. Gamze Gököz Doğu, faculty member of the Division of Medical Oncology; Assistant Professor Dr. Kubilay İnci, faculty member of the Department of Biology at Düzce University Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and Assistant Professor Dr. Cemil Can Eylem, faculty member of the Department of Analytical Chemistry at Hacettepe University Faculty of Pharmacy.

The project focuses on Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC), known as the most aggressive type of lung cancer and characterized by its high metastatic capacity. In addition to being an interdisciplinary study combining the disciplines of medicine, molecular biology and genetics, and pharmacy, the project will focus on mitochondria, the “molecular energy engine” of cancer, to investigate next-generation biomarkers and therapeutic targets for treatment.

Discovery of “Mito-Diagnostic” and Therapeutic Targets for Treatment

In lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, the study titled “Investigation of Cell Plasticity and Mitochondrial Bioenergetics Regulated by the mitomiR-MYC Axis in the Discovery of Next-Generation Biomarkers and Therapeutic Targets in Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Multi-Omics Approach” will map the complex network between the MYC oncogene, which drives aggressive subtypes of SCLC, and mitochondria-derived microRNAs (mitomiRs), targeting the mechanism of “cell plasticity” that enables cells to change their identity and evade treatment.

The “Energy Switch” of Cancer to Be Deciphered at the Mitochondrial Level

Within the scope of the project, functional analyses to be conducted to elucidate the molecular mechanisms associated with mitochondrial bioenergetics in SCLC will enable the discovery of next-generation biomarkers and therapeutic targets, referred to as “Mito-signatures” for patients. In this way, molecular processes leading to chemotherapy resistance can be identified, and the data obtained will help fill an important gap in the literature specifically concerning small cell lung cancer.