Harnessing the Ion Transportome to Treat Cancer

@article{capatina2026harnessing,
  title = {{Harnessing the Ion Transportome to Treat Cancer}},
  author = {Alina L. Capatina and Jodie R. Malcolm and Aamir Ahmed and Jason Bruce and Paul J. Buchanan and Thomas R. Eykyn and Elizabeth M. Fitzgerald and Amanda J. Foust and Tim G. Hales and Yoshikatsu Hayashi and Stuart G. Higgins and Alson Huang and Antony P. Jackson and Andrew D. James and Frederick Jones and Sarah J. Lilley and Karen McCloskey and Sara Moodad and Hugh Robinson and Samantha C. Salvage and Orkun S. Soyer and Serife Yerlikaya and Jonathan Ashmore and Ruth Murrell-Lagnado and William J. Brackenbury},
  journal = {The Journal of physiology},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1113/jp290738},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC7619665},
  note = {CC BY},
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Harnessing the Ion Transportome to Treat Cancer
AU  - Alina L. Capatina
AU  - Jodie R. Malcolm
AU  - Aamir Ahmed
AU  - Jason Bruce
AU  - Paul J. Buchanan
AU  - Thomas R. Eykyn
AU  - Elizabeth M. Fitzgerald
AU  - Amanda J. Foust
AU  - Tim G. Hales
AU  - Yoshikatsu Hayashi
AU  - Stuart G. Higgins
AU  - Alson Huang
AU  - Antony P. Jackson
AU  - Andrew D. James
AU  - Frederick Jones
AU  - Sarah J. Lilley
AU  - Karen McCloskey
AU  - Sara Moodad
AU  - Hugh Robinson
AU  - Samantha C. Salvage
AU  - Orkun S. Soyer
AU  - Serife Yerlikaya
AU  - Jonathan Ashmore
AU  - Ruth Murrell-Lagnado
AU  - William J. Brackenbury
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/18
JO  - The Journal of physiology
DO  - 10.1113/jp290738
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC7619665
AB  - Despite significant advances in early detection and therapeutic opportunities, cancer remains a critical global health challenge. The greatest barrier to reducing cancer-associated mortality is the persistent problem of therapeutic resistance and metastasis. Standard treatment approaches, including surgery combined with chemotherapy and radiation, are effective for many patients with localised disease. However, a substantial proportion of patients will experience recurrence and therapy resistance, leading to treatment failure and poor outcomes. This adverse prognosis for patients highlights the critical need to identify new therapeutic targets capable of improving long-term survival. The ion transportome comprises ion channels, solute transporters and pumps that regulate controlled movement of sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), chloride (Cl-), and hydrogen (H+) across cell membranes. Ion transport is central to many cellular processes, including cell growth, volume regulation, proliferation and migration. In many solid tumours, the finely-tuned ionic balance becomes dysregulated, with aberrant expression or activity of membrane transport proteins being closely linked to many of the hallmarks of cancer. Ion channel modulation using pharmacological agents designed to treat channelopathies has demonstrated promise in suppressing cancer progression in pre-clinical models. Thus, targeting ion-driven vulnerabilities within solid tumours may complement existing therapies to overcome resistance and improve patient outcomes. The dynamic nature of ion transport mechanisms means addressing critical research questions around their suitability as pharmacological targets is challenging, highlighting the need to develop innovative approaches to study these processes in oncology. Despite improved treatment opportunities, a major challenge remains for a proportion of cancer patients whose tumours develop resistance to such therapies. These patients experience a poor prognosis, highlighting an urgent need for novel clinical targets to improve responses. In healthy cells, ion transport is central to many functions, and is tightly regulated by corresponding ion channels, transporters and pumps. In cancer cells, the ionic balance is dysregulated due to aberrant expression or function of these transport mechanisms, and has been implicated in pro-tumorigenic behaviours. Targeting ion channels and transporters in tumours may therefore be a viable therapeutic avenue. However, further work is required to fully explore the clinical potential of this class of targets. Improved models, technologies and databases will advance our understanding of ion channels/transporters and their contributions to malignancy.
SN  - 0022-3751
SN  - 1469-7793
ER  -