ITOC 2026 | Targeting the dark genome for novel cancer immunotherapy approaches
Bernard Fox, PhD, Providence Cancer Institute, Portland, OR, discusses the concept of the dark genome, which refers to the non-coding portion of DNA. A percentage of it is transcribed and translated into protein, where some of these proteins contributing to cancer’s malignant properties and being presented on the surface of cancer cells, offering potential new targets for immunotherapies. This is a rapidly evolving area of research, with new discoveries being made and potential therapies being explored, including T-cell engagers that target these newly identified targets. This interview took place at 12th Immunotherapy of Cancer (ITOC) Conference in Munich, Germany.
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Transcript
So the dark genome was that big part of the other 98.5% of our DNA that we didn’t think was coding and doing anything. And in fact, this dark genome, some percentage of it does get transcribed, does get turned into protein. And what’s really exciting, I think, is that some of it, it turns out, is actually providing cancer with its malignant properties. And these are things we didn’t know about until recently, very recently...
So the dark genome was that big part of the other 98.5% of our DNA that we didn’t think was coding and doing anything. And in fact, this dark genome, some percentage of it does get transcribed, does get turned into protein. And what’s really exciting, I think, is that some of it, it turns out, is actually providing cancer with its malignant properties. And these are things we didn’t know about until recently, very recently. And the fact that not only are they made, but they’re actually ending up being presented on the surface of class I on cancer cells is amazing, right? And we didn’t know they were there. And so it’s providing us potential for lots of new therapies, immunotherapies, potential T-cell engagers that would target those targets. But again, it’s a new area. It’s evolving relatively quickly. And some of what we think today is real may turn out to be more problematic, but it’s a very exciting time to see this.
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