Francesco Bertoni, MD, PhD, on Tumor Suppressor Activity in DLBCL

Dr. Bertoni, of the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Bellinzona, discusses his study, “The Small Nucleolar RNA SNORD46 and SNORD72 Have Tumor Suppressor Activity in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma” presented at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research Meeting.

“A few years ago, we found that a region of chromosome 11 in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) contains ETS factors: FLA1 and ETS1,” Dr. Bertoni explained. “We worked with small molecules that block the activity of ETS factors with RNA helicases.”

Dr. Bertoni and colleagues characterized two small nucleolar RNAs, SNORD46 and SNORD72, that exert tumor suppressor activity in DLBCL cells.

“These types of small nucleolar RNA have not been studied,” Dr. Bertoni concluded. “When overexpressed, they can block the B-cell receptor signaling.”