KAIST team identifies molecular switch that reverses cancer cells at a critical transition point

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced on February 5 that they have unveiled a new approach to cancer treatment by reversing cancer cells rather than killing them.

The research team, led by Professor Kwang-Hyun Cho from the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, has identified a previously hidden "molecular switch" in the genetic network that can turn cancer cells back into a state resembling normal cells.

The team focused on a phenomenon known as a critical transition – a sudden shift in state, similar to water boiling into steam at 100 degrees Celsius. According to the researchers, a similar transition occurs when normal cells become cancerous after accumulating genetic and epigenetic changes.

Using a systems biology method, the team found that just before cells fully transform into cancer cells, they enter an unstable state in which normal and cancer cells coexist. By capturing and analyzing this critical transition point, the researchers were able to identify a molecular switch capable of reversing the cancerization process.

The technology was tested on colon cancer cells, where molecular and cellular experiments confirmed that cancer cells could regain characteristics of normal cells.

This is an original technology that automatically builds computer models of genetic networks from single-cell RNA sequencing data and uses simulation analysis to systematically identify molecular switches for cancer reversion. The researchers say the method could be applied to other types of cancer in the future.

The team has identified a molecular switch that can redirect cancer cells back toward a normal state by capturing the critical transition just before cells become irreversibly cancerous, according to Professor Cho.

KAIST said the findings mark a major step toward developing future cancer reversion therapies that target cell fate rather than cell death.