Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in developed countries. Existing treatments designed to kill cancer cells are often ineffective. New work suggests that a whole different strategy might treat cancer more successfully by transforming cancer cells back into normal tissue. The new strategy was developed by Scott Lowe and his team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY) and tested in mouse models.
The key to the transformation is the tumor suppressor APC, which is inactive in 80–90% of colorectal cancers. Restoration of normal expression of APC led to tumor regression and normal intestinal function without relapse for more than 15 weeks, even in mice with other cancer-causing mutations (Cell 161, 1539–1552; 2015). “The tumor response to the restoration of endogenous APC protein was rapid and striking,” the authors wrote. In fact, the response was apparent even before APC expression reached normal levels, suggesting that small amounts of APC can be effective. Lowe's team plans to continue investigating the mechanisms by which APC restoration causes tumor regression in hopes that the work might lead to the development of pharmaceutical compounds with similar effects that might have “long-term therapeutic value in the clinic.” MH
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