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New Mechanism in Cancer Biology May Unlock Better Treatments for DLBCL – Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center/LinkedIn

Sep 6, 2025, 14:57

New Mechanism in Cancer Biology May Unlock Better Treatments for DLBCL – Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Sylvester researchers have identified a new mechanism in cancer biology that may open the door to better treatments for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)—the most common type of blood cancer. Using an innovative platform they designed, the team discovered that the protein cyclin-G associated kinase (GAK) is essential for DLBCL cell survival. Because GAK appears to play a critical role in how lymphoma cells divide, it may represent a promising new drug target for future therapies.

Congratulations to Drs. Jonathan Schatz and Hassan A Ali, and their team for securing a prestigious four-year, $2.4 million award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)! Their grant proposal ranked in the top 1% nationwide—an extraordinary achievement. This support will fuel their research.

The team’s finding that GAK may play a key role in lymphoma emerged from a novel platform created by Drs. Hassan Al Ali and Vance Lemmon. Their technique combines screening methods with AI technologies to accelerate the discovery of new drug targets. By focusing on cellular enzymes known as kinases, which regulate many critical functions in our cells, this approach has the potential to streamline drug discovery, reduce costs and shorten the timeline for bringing new treatments to patients.

Discover how the team’s breakthrough is opening new doors for cancer therapeutics—uncovering novel drug targets, advancing future research and paving the way toward improved patient care.”

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