CURE HOPE
Cancer breakthrough as scientists discover ‘switch’ that ‘reverses disease in cells’
The new research could lead to therapies that are less toxic and more effective
SCIENTISTS have discovered a "switch" that they say reverses cancer cells in a major development for finding a cure to the disease.
Researchers in South Korea said they were able to revert cancerous cells back to a healthier stage.
2
The team believe they can prevent the progression by exploiting the moment before normal cells irreversibly transform into diseased cells.
Current cancer treatments focus on removing or destroying cancer cells through surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
But the groundbreaking discovery could let cancer patients regain their healthy cells, it is hoped.
The scientists published their findings in the journal .
Read more Health News
Co-author of the new research Kwang-Hyun Cho is a professor of biology at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
He said: "This study has revealed in detail, at the genetic network level, what changes occur within cells behind the process of cancer development, which has been considered a mystery until now.
"This is the first study to reveal that an important clue that can revert the fate of [tumor development] is hidden at this very moment of change," he added.
Cancer is when abnormal cells divide in an uncontrolled way.
Most read in Health
It starts when gene changes make one cell or a few cells begin to grow and multiply too much.
Cho and his colleagues identified a key window when cells enter a short-lived "critical transition state".
Doctors told me I was just stressed after having a baby and suggested I go for a WALK - it was stage 3 cancer
At this point, the cells contain both healthy and cancerous traits.
The team was able to target the mechanisms controlling this transition and identify molecular pathways that pushed cells back to a normal state.
Dr Troso-Sandoval, formerly at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told the new research could lead to therapies that are less toxic and more effective.
The retired oncologist, who was not involved in the study, said: "This finding provides a new approach for cancer treatment by rewiring cancer cells rather than eliminating them."
She said the study also provides "a deeper understanding of cancer biology that could lead to more personalised medicine".
It comes as NHS figures show a record numbers of cancers are being diagnosed early when they are more curable.
Nearly six in ten of the 13 most common tumours were caught at stage one or two, the health service said.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
It means they have not spread to other parts of the body and they can usually be destroyed.
Almost 121,000 out of the 206,000 cancers diagnosed in England between September 2023 and August 2024 were found early.
2
Topics