Biomarker development in MET-targeted therapy

// Yanni Zhang 1 , Zhiqiang Du 1 and Mingqiang Zhang 1 1 Amgen Biopharmaceutical Research and Development (Shanghai) Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China Correspondence to: Mingqiang Zhang, email: // Keywords : MET, amplification, overexpression, biomarker, MET-targeted therapy Received : September 18, 2015 Accepted : March 14, 2016 Published : March 22, 2016 Abstract Activation of the MET receptor tyrosine kinase by its ligand, hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), has been implicated in a variety of cellular processes, including cell proliferation, survival, migration, motility and invasion, all of which may be enhanced in human cancers. Aberrantly activated MET/HGF signaling correlates with tumorigenesis and metastasis, and is regarded as a robust target for the development of novel anti-cancer treatments. Various clinical trials were conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of selective HGF/MET inhibitors in cancer patients. There is currently no optimal or standardized method for accurate and reliable assessment of MET levels, or other biomarkers that are predictive of the patient response to MET-targeted therapeutics. In this review, we discuss the importance of accurate HGF/MET signal detection as a predictive biomarker to guide patient selection for clinical trials of MET-targeted therapies in human cancers.