Researchers have devised a way to potentially revert different cancer cells into their "normal" states, which could lead to new therapies with fewer side effects for patients. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com
Health South KoreaGroundbreaking: Cancer Cells Converted Back to Normal Cells!
A research team affiliated with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea managed to convert colon cancer cells back into normal cells without killing them, thus avoiding side effects.
“The fact that cancer cells can be converted back to normal cells is an astonishing phenomenon, exclaims Kwang-Hyun Cho, Professor at KAIST. “This study proves that such reversion can be systematically induced.”
It has been observed that during the oncogenesis process, normal cells regress along their differentiation trajectory. Therefore, the research team developed a technology that creates a digital twin of the gene network associated with the differentiation trajectory of normal cells. Simulation analysis has allowed the team to identify master molecular switches that induce normal cell differentiation systematically. When the switches were applied to colon cancer cells, they reverted to a normal-like state, thus demonstrating that cancer cell reversion can be systematically achieved by analyzing and utilizing the digital twin of the cancer cell gene network. These findings hold significant promise for developing reversible cancer therapies that can be applied to various types of cancer.
