• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Researchers discover groundbreaking way to revert cancer cells into normal cells

Home> News> Health

Published 16:58 27 Dec 2024 GMT

Researchers discover groundbreaking way to revert cancer cells into normal cells

The development could change the way certain cancers are treated

Lucy Devine

Lucy Devine

Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Dan Kitwood/Getty Images/BSIP

Topics: Health, Science, Cancer, Technology

Lucy Devine
Lucy Devine

Advert

Advert

Advert

Researchers hunting for a cure for cancer have made a groundbreaking discovery that could turn some cancer cells into 'normal' cells.

Cancer occurs in the body when the DNA of a cell mutates, causing the cell to grow uncontrollably and essentially turning it from a normal cell into a cancerous one.

The discovery could see cancer cells reverted into normal cells (Getty Stock Photo)
The discovery could see cancer cells reverted into normal cells (Getty Stock Photo)

The mutations can occur because they have been inherited, damaged (for example, from sun exposure), or they can develop over time through age.

Advert

Being able to revert a cell from a cancerous one back to something that resembles normal is a hugely significant development, not only because it presents a new way of treating certain cancers, but because it could also reduce the nasty side effects associated with some commonly used cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

This is because the cell is being reverted back to a normal-like state, rather than destroyed altogether.

The discovery could reduce the nasty side effects associated with cancer treatment (Getty Stock Photo)
The discovery could reduce the nasty side effects associated with cancer treatment (Getty Stock Photo)

The research was conducted by professor Kwang-Hyun Cho, from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

Advert

Along with his research team, professor Kwang-Hyun Cho used a digital model of normal cell development, where they were able to convert colon cancer cells into a normal-like state.

During the study, the team observed the oncogenesis process in which normal cells transform into cancer cells. After building a 'digital twin' of the gene network, they found that molecules known as 'master regulators' - also referred to as MYB, HDAC2, and FOXA2 - induced differentiation.

The study, published in Advanced Science, explains: "MYB, HDAC2, and FOXA2 are identified as the master regulators whose inhibition induces enterocyte differentiation.

"It is found that simultaneous knockdown of these master regulators can revert colorectal cancer cells into normal-like enterocytes by synergistically inducing differentiation and suppressing malignancy."

Advert

The results of the digital research were then confirmed via experiments on mice found to have cancerous tumours.

The study could change the way cancer is treated (Getty Stock Photo)
The study could change the way cancer is treated (Getty Stock Photo)

Of the discovery, professor Kwang-Hyun Cho said "The fact that cancer cells can be converted back to normal cells is an astonishing phenomenon.

"This study proves that such reversion can be systematically induced.

Advert

"This research introduces the novel concept of reversible cancer therapy by reverting cancer cells to normal cells. It also develops foundational technology for identifying targets for cancer reversion through the systematic analysis of normal cell differentiation trajectories."

The study has presented groundbreaking possibilities that reversible cancer therapy could be used in different types of cancer treatment.

  • Middle school student accidentally discovers groundbreaking new cancer-fighting compound
  • Researchers discover 5000-year-old civilization underneath world's largest desert
  • Scientist reveals shocking way alcohol can increase your risk of deadly cancer
  • People discover 'gross' way scientists are 3D-printing steak and say they would never eat it

Choose your content:

6 hours ago
7 hours ago
8 hours ago
  • 6 hours ago

    Trump reveals sobering number of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers who have died this year after issuing threat to Putin

    The US president has revealed there's a huge death toll already

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    Trump orders nuclear submarines 'to be positioned in appropriate regions' after comments from Russia's ex-president

    Donald Trump is apparently ramping up his threats to Russia

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    New study finds just one of these extremely popular drinks per day may increase type 2 diabetes risk by 38%

    More that 38 million people in America have diabetes

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Horrifying simulation shows what happened when 'woman woke up at her own funeral' during burial

    Apparently, the woman's family thought she was a ghost

    News