New Haven, Conn.-based Yale researchers found removing extra chromosomes from cancer cells inhibits tumor formation and could be a new route for cancer treatment.
The study, published July 6 in Science, used CRISPR Targeting to target extra chromosomes, known as aneuploidy, in melanoma, gastric cancer and ovarian cell lines. Researchers removed a long portion of chromosome 1, which is found in several cancers and linked to disease progression.
The study found aneuploidies play a role in cancer development and eliminating them stunts growth potential. Aneuploidy also causes "collateral therapeutic vulnerabilities that can be targeted to selectively eliminate cells with chromosome dosage imbalances," researchers wrote.