Dr. Alison Bauer, and colleagues at the Colorado School of Public Health identified epiregulin, or Ereg, as a new potential biomarker during transcriptomic studies using two separate mouse models of lung cancer.

[Photo: Dr. Alison Bauer]

In addition to decreased overall tumor burden, mice lacking Ereg also showed reduced inflammation and, in cell studies, both human and mouse lung epithelial cells treated with Ereg had significant increases in wound healing.

Because Ereg is under-studied – as compared to its cousin, EGF – much of the science surrounding this growth factor is still poorly understood. Despite challenges, researchers believe Ereg to contain exciting opportunities as a promising biomarker.

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