Cancer's aggressive tendency to spread, grow and further deteriorate the bodies that house it, may be reversible making it become its own aggressor, attacking and destroying itself, according to research published July 26 in Nature.
Gerald Crabtree, MD, a developmental biologist at Stanford, and a lead author of the study examined the potential rewiring of cancer cells to activate "cell death genes."
The study focused on large B cell lymphoma. By linking together BRD4 and BCL6 proteins, researchers produced a molecule known as TCIP1 — capable of destroying diffuse large B cell lymphoma cell lines as well as those that are chemotherapy-resistant.
It could eventually be used on half of all cancers, Dr. Crabtree told The New York Times.
While the research didn't lead to a drug development for cancer patients, the findings could be used as impetus for that in the future, according to the Times.