CNTFR as a Radioligand Therapy Target
CNTFR, ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor, is a cell-surface protein (membrane receptor). In Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry, CNTFR staining is highest in colorectal cancer (92% of samples positive), breast cancer (92% of samples positive) and endometrial cancer (50% of samples positive). Published literature reports that CNTFR internalizes after ligand binding, which helps retain a radionuclide inside tumor cells. Clinical status: Discovery-stage (no clinical drug program).
Is CNTFR a good radioligand therapy target?
Scored against the six criteria that decide whether a protein can become a radioligand therapy:
- ✅ Cell-surface accessibility: Localized to the cell surface, so a radioligand can reach it from circulation.
- ⚠️ Tumor expression: Medium IHC staining in colorectal cancer, 92% of samples positive.
- ✅ Internalization: Reported to internalize, which favors radionuclide retention.
- ⚠️ Clinical precedent: Discovery-stage (no clinical drug program)
- ❔ Shedding: Not yet assessed.
- ❔ Normal-tissue dosimetry: Check kidney, liver, bone marrow and salivary expression in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas.
CNTFR expression in cancer
Protein expression of CNTFR across 20 cancer types from Human Protein Atlas immunohistochemistry. The score is a weighted staining intensity from 0 to 1; "% positive" is the share of patient samples with detectable staining.
| Cancer type | IHC score | Level | % positive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorectal Cancer | 0.44 | Medium | 92% |
| Breast Cancer | 0.44 | Medium | 92% |
| Endometrial Cancer | 0.19 | Low | 50% |
| Thyroid Cancer | 0.17 | Low | 50% |
| Prostate Cancer | 0.17 | Low | 50% |
| Ovarian Cancer | 0.17 | Low | 33% |
| Lung Cancer | 0.15 | Low | 46% |
| Cervical Cancer | 0.14 | Low | 42% |
| Pancreatic Cancer | 0.12 | Low | 27% |
| Gastric Cancer | 0.10 | Low | 20% |
| Liver Cancer | 0.10 | Low | 20% |
| Neuroendocrine Tumors | 0.08 | Low | 25% |
| Bladder Cancer | 0.03 | Low | 10% |
| Kidney Cancer | 0.03 | Low | 9% |
Not detected by IHC in: skin cancer, head and neck cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, testicular cancer, glioma.
Is CNTFR internalized?
Yes. The results are consistent with a signaling endosomes model in which the cytokine/receptor complex is transported back to the cell body where Stat3 is activated.
Sources: PMID 22306348. AI-extracted from abstracts, so verify before citing.
CNTFR clinical trials
Discovery-stage (no clinical drug program). Nuclens hasn't indexed trials for CNTFR yet. Search ClinicalTrials.gov for CNTFR trials.
CNTFR normal tissue expression
Normal-tissue expression in dose-limiting organs (kidney, liver, bone marrow, salivary glands) drives radioligand dosimetry risk. Nuclens is re-validating its normal-tissue values, so they are not shown here yet. See CNTFR in the Human Protein Atlas tissue atlas, and read how normal-tissue expression predicts radioligand dosimetry risk.
CNTFR gene essentiality (DepMap)
CRISPR knockout effect across 1242 cancer cell lines: -0.03 (not essential). Radioligands kill by radiation, not by blocking the target, so essentiality matters less than for inhibitors. A non-essential target can still be an excellent radioligand target.
Related colorectal cancer radioligand targets
c-MET (MET) · HER3 (ERBB3) · FAP · EGFR · CEA (CEACAM5) · EPCAM · SSTR2 · STEAP2
See all radioligand therapy targets in colorectal cancer.
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Subcellular localization: UniProt via Open Targets (CC BY 4.0 / CC0). Tumor immunohistochemistry: Human Protein Atlas (CC BY-SA 4.0). Clinical trials: ClinicalTrials.gov (public domain). Gene essentiality: DepMap (CC BY 4.0). Internalization and shedding: AI-extracted from PubMed abstracts, so verify against the cited papers before relying on them. Nuclens is a first-pass triage layer, not a substitute for wet-lab validation or clinical dosimetry. Derived expression data on this page is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.