SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boundless Bio, a company developing innovative new therapies directed to extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) in aggressive cancers, today announced that scientific co-founder, Paul Mischel, M.D., will be lecturing on the foundational role that ecDNA plays in driving resistance to standard of care therapies at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting II, held June 22-24, 2020.
Track: Educational Session
Session: Overcoming Therapeutic Resistance: Challenges and Opportunities
Presentation Title: Tumor heterogeneity and the evolution of drug resistance
Date: Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Time: 3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT
About ecDNA
Extrachromosomal DNA, or ecDNA, are distinct circular units of DNA containing functional genes that are located outside cells’ chromosomes and can make many copies of themselves. ecDNA rapidly replicate within cancer cells, causing high numbers of oncogene copies, a trait that can be passed to daughter cells in asymmetric ways during cell division. Cancer cells have the ability to upregulate or downregulate oncogenes located on ecDNA to ensure survival under selective pressures, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or radiation, making ecDNA one of cancer cells’ primary mechanisms of recurrence and treatment resistance. ecDNA are rarely seen in healthy cells but are found in many solid tumor cancers. They are a key driver of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat cancers, specifically those characterized by high copy number amplification of oncogenes.
About Boundless Bio
Boundless Bio is a biotechnology company focused on interrogating a novel area of cancer biology, extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA), to deliver transformative therapies to patients with previously intractable cancers. For more information, visit www.boundlessbio.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
