A domestic research team has developed a technology to find molecular switches that can revert cancer cells back to normal cells by analyzing the gene network at the moment normal cells transform into cancer cells.
Professor Jo Kwang-hyun and his research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) noted on the 5th that they successfully captured and analyzed the critical transition phenomenon at the moment of the transformation from normal cells to cancer cells, developing a technology to discover molecular switches that can revert cancer cells back to normal cells. Critical transition refers to a sudden change in state occurring at a specific point, much like water transforming into steam at 100 degrees Celsius.
The research team previously developed foundational technology for 'cancer reversible therapy' that transforms cancer cells into a state similar to normal cells without killing them. In this study, they confirmed that just before normal cells switch to cancer cells, an unstable critical transition state where normal and cancer cells coexist can occur, and they developed a treatment method utilizing this.
The team systematically identified molecular switches for cancer reversal by automatically inferring and analyzing a computer model of the gene network governing the critical transition from normal cells to cancer cells based on single-cell gene data. They also confirmed that cancer cells can regain characteristics of normal cells when applied to colorectal cancer cells.
The research team believes that the foundational technology developed can also be applied to the development of treatments for cancers other than colorectal cancer. Professor Jo Kwang-hyun emphasized that “this study detailed what changes occur at the cellular level behind the cancer development process, which has long been a mystery,” and pointed out that “the key clue to reversing the fate of cancer cells back to normal cells is hidden in the moments of these changes, marking the first research to uncover this.”
The results of this study were published online in the international journal 'Advanced Science' on the 22nd of last month.
Reference materials
Advanced Science (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202412503