TWIST1 is a critical downstream target of the HGF/MET pathway and is required for MET driven acquired resistance in oncogene driven lung cancer.

MET amplification/mutations are important targetable oncogenic drivers in NSCLC, however, acquired resistance is inevitable and the majority of patients with targetable MET alterations fail to respond to MET tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Furthermore, MET amplification is among the most common mediators of TKI resistance. As such, novel therapies to target MET pathway and overcome MET TKI resistance are clearly needed.

Targeting of Both the c-Met and EGFR Pathways Results in Additive Inhibition of Lung Tumorigenesis in Transgenic Mice.

EGFR and c-Met are both overexpressed in lung cancer and initiate similar downstream signaling, which may be redundant. To determine how frequently ligands that initiate signaling of both pathways are found in lung cancer, we analyzed serum for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), transforming growth factor-alpha, and amphiregulin (AREG) in lung cancer cases and tobacco-exposed controls. HGF and AREG were both significantly elevated in cases compared to controls, suggesting that both HGF/c-Met and AREG/EGFR pathways are frequently active.