The RAS Initiative
NPR Profiles RAS
National Public Radio recently aired a story on cancers caused by RAS that featured the NCI RAS Initiative and several of its collaborators.
More than 30 percent of all human cancers – including 95 percent of pancreatic cancers and 45 percent of colorectal cancers — are driven by mutations of the RAS family of genes. NCI established the RAS initiative in 2013 to explore innovative approaches for attacking the proteins encoded by mutant forms of RAS genes and to ultimately create effective, new therapies for RAS-related cancers.
RAS Target Identification
The RAS Initiative is using cutting edge technologies to better define target vulnerabilities in RAS proteins, complexes of RAS proteins with its effector and regulatory partners, cell surface proteins that are enriched in cancer cells driven by mutant RAS, and pathways that are essential to cancer cells but not normal cells.
RAS Screens & Assays
A primary goal of the RAS Initiative at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) is to develop assays for RAS activity, localization, and signaling and adapt those assays so they can be used for finding new drug candidates.
RAS Central
To help solve the 30-year challenge of how to treat RAS-driven cancers, we need an open model of collaboration. Whether you are a dedicated RAS expert or curious researcher, we encourage you to help advance the research by joining our RAS community.
Combination Screens for Cancer Vulnerabilities: A Conversation with Kris Wood
Cancers driven by mutant KRAS are difficult to treat. Combining genetic screens with drugs that work downstream of mutant KRAS reveals cellular adaptations to uncontrolled growth that may be targeted.