Groundbreaking technology converts cancer cells into normal cells

Groundbreaking technology converts cancer cells into normal cells

Despite the development of numerous cancer treatment technologies, the common goal of current cancer therapies is to eliminate cancer cells. However, this approach faces fundamental limitations: cancer cells develop resistance and return, and destroying healthy cells has serious side effects.

KAIST (represented by President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on December 20 that a research team led by Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho of the Department of Biological and Brain Engineering has developed a breakthrough technology that can treat colon cancer by converting cancer cells into a condition similar to normal colon cells without killing them, thereby avoiding side effects.

The research team focused on the observation that normal cells regress along their differentiation pathway during the oncogenesis process. Building on this insight, they developed technology to create a digital twin of the gene network associated with the differentiation pathway of normal cells.

Through simulation analyses, the team systematically identified molecular master switches that induce normal cell differentiation. When these switches were applied to colon cancer cells, the cancer cells returned to a normal-like state, a result confirmed by molecular and cellular experiments as well as animal studies.

This research shows that cancer cell reversion can be achieved systematically by analyzing and leveraging the digital twin of the cancer cell gene network, rather than relying on chance discoveries. The results are promising for the development of reversible cancer therapies that can be used in various types of cancer.

The fact that cancer cells can be converted back into normal cells is an amazing phenomenon. This study proves that such a reversal can be achieved systematically.”

Kwang-Hyun Cho, Professor, KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)

He further emphasized, "This research introduces the novel concept of reversible cancer therapy by converting cancer cells into normal cells. It also develops a fundamental technology for identifying targets for cancer reversal through the systematic analysis of normal cell differentiation trajectories."

This research included contributions from Jeong-Ryeol Gong, Chun-Kyung Lee, Hoon-Min Kim, Juhee Kim and Jaeog Jeon and was published Dec. 11 in the online edition of Wiley's international journal Advanced Science. (“Control of cellular differentiation trajectories for cancer reversion”) DOI:

The study was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Mid-Career Researcher Program and the Basic Research Laboratory Program. The research results have been transferred to BioRevert Inc., where they will be used to develop practical cancer reversal therapies.

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