Understanding the mechanisms and impact of dysregulated RNA metabolism in cancer.

The Borden Lab investigates how dysregulated RNA metabolism drives cancer, uncovering novel mechanisms and therapeutic targets.

Cancer cells hijack RNA metabolism to rewrite or amplify genetic messages. Our work centers on the eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF4E), which is dysregulated in many cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia. We discovered that eIF4E regulates not only translation but also multiple stages of RNA processing by coordinating groups of mRNAs within shared signaling pathways that reshape cancer cell behavior and promote disease progression.

Our discoveries directly enabled first-in-class clinical trials targeting eIF4E, resulting in objective clinical responses and complete remissions in some AML patients, while also revealing new, targetable mechanisms of drug resistance.