A research team from KAIST has made a breakthrough discovery in cancer treatment, identifying a molecular switch that can reverse cancer by targeting cells at the moment they transition from normal to malignant. Instead of destroying cancer cells, this revolutionary method modifies their behavior, restoring them to a state similar to normal cells.
Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho and his team from KAIST’s Department of Bio and Brain Engineering have developed a cutting-edge technique to detect and manipulate the precise moment when normal cells begin to turn cancerous. By analyzing this critical transition, they have pinpointed a genetic switch that can revert cancer cells to their original state.
Understanding the Critical Transition in Cancer Development
A critical transition is a sudden change that occurs at a specific moment, much like water boiling into steam at 100°C. Cancer follows a similar path, where normal cells, influenced by accumulated genetic and epigenetic changes, shift into a malignant state.
The KAIST research team found that just before normal cells turn cancerous, they enter an unstable phase where both normal and cancerous characteristics coexist. Using advanced systems biology methods, they analyzed this transition period and developed a technique to identify molecular switches capable of reversing the process. Their findings were validated through molecular experiments on colon cancer cells, proving that these cells could regain normal characteristics.
How This Discovery Could Transform Cancer Treatment
This research introduces an innovative technology that automatically constructs a computer model of the genetic network controlling cancer’s critical transition. By utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing data, the system simulates various genetic scenarios to locate the key molecular switches responsible for cancer reversion.
This breakthrough could lead to the development of reversion therapies for various types of cancer, shifting the focus from traditional treatments that kill cancer cells to methods that restore their normal function.
Professor Cho Highlights the Significance of the Study
Professor Cho emphasized that their work has uncovered a hidden mechanism within the genetic network that can revert cancerous cells. He explained that by capturing the precise moment before a normal cell undergoes an irreversible transformation, their research sheds light on a previously unknown aspect of tumorigenesis.
Collaboration and Publication in a Leading Scientific Journal
The study was conducted by KAIST scientists Dr. Dongkwan Shin (now at the National Cancer Center), Dr. Jeong-Ryeol Gong, and doctoral student Seoyoon D. Jeong, in collaboration with Seoul National University. The team utilized organoids derived from colon cancer patients to validate their findings.
Their research was published on January 22 in Advanced Science, a prestigious international journal by Wiley. (Paper title: “Attractor Landscape Analysis Reveals a Reversion Switch in the Transition of Colorectal Tumorigenesis” – DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202412503).
Funding and Future Implications
This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Basic Research Laboratory Program, and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute’s Disease-Centered Translational Research Project under the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
This discovery paves the way for a new approach to cancer treatment, offering hope for future therapies that could reverse cancer instead of eliminating cells, reducing the side effects associated with traditional treatments.
