Scientists have discovered a 'switch' that reverses cancer cells, in what is described as a big breakthrough.
By activating this molecular level, researchers in South Korea could reduce cancer cells to a healthier stage.
This allowed them to tap In the critical moment before normal cells irreversibly transform into sick cells and stop progression.
“This finding offers a new approach to cancer treatment by re -wiring cancer cells instead of eliminating them,” Dr. Tiffany Troso-Sandoval, a retired oncologist formerly at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center who was not involved in the study, at DailyMail.com.
To better understand this hybrid condition, you can think of water boiling at exactly 212 ° F, (100c) said Dr. Troso-Sandoval.
“There is a short moment when water is neither completely liquid or complete steam,” comparable to how the development of cancer includes a short window where cells are both healthy and cancer -like, she explained.
Traditional cancer treatments focus on removing cancer cells by surgery, or destroy them with radiation or chemotherapy.
But the new research seems to have discovered a third approach with which cancer patients can regain their healthy cells.
In an amazing breakthrough, scientists have discovered a molecular 'switch' that can convert cancer cells into healthy cells (stock)
Researchers tested this new treatment mechanism through molecular cell experiments in lab-grown mini-tumors or organoids made from colon cancer cells. Their 'Switch' stopped cancer growth (top left) and returned cells to a health status (bottom right)
This may lead to therapies that are less toxic than radiation and chemotherapy, Dr. Troso-Sandoval.
These traditional therapies damage all cells in the body – not just the cancer -like.
This causes debilitating side effects and can ultimately ensure that patients develop more diseases, including new cancers.
In addition, the new findings may indicate a way to prevent tumor formation in patients with a high risk, added Dr. Troso-Sandoval, such as people with a family history of the disease or who are regularly exposed to carcinogenic substances such as cigarette smoke.
The study also offers “a deeper understanding of cancer biology that can lead to more personalized medicine,” she said.
Co-author of the new research, Kwang-Hyun Cho, a biology professor at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, said: 'This study has revealed detailed, at genetic network level, which changes in cells behind the process of the Development of cancer, which has so far been considered a mystery.
'This is the first study that revealed that an important indication that can reduce the fate of [tumor development] Is hidden at the moment of change, “he added.
The development of cancer is not an immediate transformation. It happens gradually as changes in the DNA of healthy cells build up over time, which changes how cells function
Traditional cancer treatments focus on removing cancer cells by surgery, or destroying them with radiation or chemotherapy
Treatments that destroy cancer cells can lead to debilitating side effects such as fatigue, nausea and hair loss. But the Cho research team seems to have discovered a third approach that could enable cancer patients to actually regain their normal cells
As soon as sufficient harmful changes occur, healthy cells change into abnormally functioning cancer cells.
The researchers identified an important window during this gradual transition, in which cells enter a short 'critical transition state', where they contain both healthy and cancer -like properties.
With the help of a molecular identification system, the team was able to focus on the mechanisms that arrange and identify this transition Molecular routes that pushed cells back to a normal condition.
Cho and his colleagues This new treatment mechanism tested by molecular cell expertiments in lab-grown mini-tumors or organoids made from colon cancer cells.
They identified an enzyme that hinded the breakdown of certain cancer -related proteins, allowing them to feed tumor growth.
By blocking the enzyme, the organoids have stopped growing and returned to A healthy state of normal functioning.
The team published their findings in the magazine Advanced Science.
Although the concept of cell differentiation or the process of cells that change conditions is not new, the mechanism that Cho and his team discovered and its application in the treatment of cancer, according to Dr. Troso-Sandoval.
