Concurrent loss of tumour suppressors LKB1 and BRG1 contribute to epigenetic dysregulation in lung tumourigenesis

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in men and women worldwide. Symptoms of lung cancer do not usually present themselves until the disease is at an advanced stage, where traditional methods are generally ineffective. Therefore, there exists a need to identify distinct changes that contribute to lung cancer development for earlier detection. Loss of gene regulation has been well regarded in contributing to cancer development and progression, and interestingly two proteins that are commonly found mutated together in lung cancer, LKB1 and BRG1 are involved in regulating many genes. Looking at various gene expression changes when LKB1 and/or BRG1 is lost in lung cancer may serve as a predictive marker for lung cancer development. The expression of the majority of examined genes was dramatically reduced when LKB1 and BRG1 were simultaneously lost. These findings suggest that distinct changes occur when LKB1 and BRG1 are concurrently lost in lung cancer and looking for these changes may help aid in earlier detection for these patients.