Over 40% of all people, including about 1 in 2 women and 1 in 3 men, will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetime. So the news in February that KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) discovered a way to reverse cancer cells into a similar state to normal came as good news for many.
Headed by professor Kwang-Hyun Cho, the KAIST research team developed a technology that captures the critical moment where normal cells change into cancer cells, and discovered a molecular switch that can revert cancer cells back to normal cells.
A critical transition phenomenon is the sudden change in state at a specific point in time, similar to water boiling or freezing. This same phenomenon happens to cells over time due to the accumulation of genetic and epigenetic changes caused by aging and environmental exposures, all of which can lead to the development of cancer and other diseases.
The team discovered that normal cells can enter an unstable state where normal and cancer cells can coexist just before they change into cancer cells during tumorigenesis, the process by which normal cells develop into tumor cells. The team then analyzed this state using a systems biology method to develop a cancer reversal technology that can “switch off” the cancer cells and reverse the cancerization process. They then applied this technology to colon cancer cells and found that, through molecular cell experiments, cancer cells can recover the characteristics of normal cells, according to News Medical.
“We have discovered a molecular switch that can revert the fate of the cancer cells back to a normal state by capturing the moment of critical transition right before normal cells are changed into an irreversible cancerous state,” said Cho.
The goal of traditional cancer treatments is to ultimately destroy cancer cells. While this approach may be successful, it has some drawbacks. The possibility of cancer cells becoming resistant and recur, as well as harm to healthy cells that can cause side effects. According to Pharmatimes Online, “A British inquiry into the use of chemotherapy to treat seriously ill cancer patients has found the treatment caused or hastened death in 27% of cases.”
Unlike traditional chemotherapy, which focuses on killing cancer cells but also kills healthy ones, KAIST’s approach may allow for a safer and more efficient treatment, according to The Economic Times. This doesn’t mean there aren’t any drawbacks to the new approach. As with traditional cancer treatment, cells can still resist the treatment and tumors may yet recur.
Still, this discovery by KAIST may represent a massive breakthrough in the medical world, and with more research to come, the cure for cancer may be just over the horizon.
