Researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced their success in transforming cancer cells back into normal cells. Their discovery opens the door to a new treatment that only destroys cancer cells in the patient's body.
Current radiotherapy treatments destroy both normal and cancerous cells. Researchers at KAIST discovered the molecules MYB, HDAC2 and FOXA2 that function as master regulators of the process of differentiation of intestinal wall cells. When these three molecules are blocked in intestinal cancer cells, they transform back into normal cells without having an impact on normal cells in the environment.
At this time, the tests are only done digitally, at the molecular level and in laboratory mice. More tests need to be conducted before they can be done in humans. Researchers will conduct more studies in the hope that the technique of blocking master regulator molecules can also be used in cancers in other parts of the body.