21/11/2025
Instead of destroying cancer cells with drugs or radiation, scientists in South Korea have found a way to push them back into behaving like normal healthy cells. The work focused on colon cancer, where researchers noticed that during tumor development there is a delicate tipping point. At this stage, some cells act normal while others begin to turn cancerous, and both exist in an unstable mix. By studying this process closely, they were able to find a molecular switch that can flip cancer cells back toward their healthy state.
To understand this better, the team tracked how genes switch on and off as cells progress from healthy to malignant. They built a computer model of these changes and used it to identify key regulators that hold the power to control cell identity. When they activated this switch in lab experiments, cancer cells lost many of their aggressive traits and began to function more like normal colon cells. They grew more slowly, looked healthier under the microscope, and showed less of the destructive behavior typical of tumors.
This discovery is still at an early stage and has not yet been tested in people. The approach also seems to work only at the right moment before cancer cells fully lock into their malignant state. Even so, it offers a new way of thinking about treatment, shifting the focus from killing cancer to restoring cell health.
Research Paper 📄
DOI: 10.1002/advs.202412503
