Mapping scientific and technological production related to the MYC gene

Abstract

In appropriate activation of c-MYC proto-oncogene contributes to the development of human cancers. Searches for therapies that target genes and proteins related to neoplastic phenotypes have become frequent. Therefore, inhibiting c-MYC expression has been the target for developing and testing multiple drugs and strategies for the treatment of various human cancers. This study aimed to map scientific and technological productions on the MYC gene at the Scielo, PubMed and Orbit Intelligence platforms between 2000 and 2019. The scientific prospecting revealed 1,259 articles. The most detected categories were: molecular biology, MYC mutations and those addressing the MYC as a drug target or therapeutic strategies. A progressive increase in the number of articles in this last category was found. Technological mapping detected 10,059 patent documents, with 20.2% granted. China and the USA were the largest filers, accounting for more than 40%. Biotechnology was the field with the highest number of patents. Biotechnology and the pharmaceutical sector predominated in the second half of the period investigated, both in scientific and technological prospecting. Our study points to a scientific and technological effort in the development of therapeutic strategies against cancer, in which MYC is among the main targets.