From War to Reprogramming:

The pursuit of a cure for cancer dates back to ancient times. Early civilizations tried everything from surgical removal to heat therapy – methods not entirely unlike those we still use today. Thus, it might seem like we haven’t made much progress, but in reality, the last 150 years have brought significant advancements in our understanding of cancer and how to treat it. Still, the fight is far from over. Alarmingly, the prevalence of what is known as “early-onset” cancer, or cancer that is diagnosed between the ages of 18 and 49, is on the rise (Ugai et al., 2022). Many young adults are diagnosed at more advanced stages of cancer, often because they are not the targeted demographic for routine checkups and symptoms are often passed off as inconsequential. 

Familial ties to early-onset cancer have kept this demographic on my mind and in my heart for years. I have a family member who was diagnosed with early-onset stage 4 colorectal cancer at just 28 years old. Though he’s currently in remission, he has endured multiple surgeries and countless rounds of chemotherapy. Cancer at any age is cruel but watching someone so young carry the weight of their own mortality has been devastating. What’s been hardest to reconcile is the science. Knowing the biology behind cancer makes it feel even more hopeless. There is no magic pill, no single “cure” coming soon. The reality is that his own body may one day do more harm than medicine can undo. 

An Era of New Hope?

Around the world millions of people are holding out hope for themselves or someone that they love. They’re searching for a light at the end of the tunnel. And now, a promising glimmer may be emerging from a laboratory at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). 

Cancer development involves a series of genetic and epigenetic changes that transform normal cells into malignant ones. Previous research has shown that there is a critical point in time where cells can express both normal and cancerous genes. A better understanding of this transitional window and an ability to identify it might allow scientists to intervene before tumorigenesis takes hold.  

To identify these transitional states, the team at KAIST developed a computational framework named REVERT. This system analyzes single-cell transcriptomic data from cancer patients and then reconstructs molecular regulatory networks involved in the transition phase. The ultimate goal? To identify potential molecular targets that could be modulated to revert cancer cells back to normal. 

While the focus of this study was primarily on developing this new framework, researchers also identified specific molecular players, like ubiquitin-specific protease 7 (USP7), that may play a role in the switch between normal to cancerous cells in colorectal cancer. USP7 is known to play a role in cancer progression by stabilizing various cancer-causing proteins. The team at KAIST demonstrated that inhibiting USP7 in colorectal cancer organoids resulted in reduced cancer organoid growth. 

This discovery is still very new, and the road from the lab to real-world treatment is long, but even the possibility is a shift in the narrative. For decades, we’ve treated cancer like a war to be won. This approach feels different: less like a war and more like rehabilitation. For families like mine, this kind of research means more than scientific progress. It means more time – more birthdays, more family meals, more moments that aren’t overshadowed by fear. And while there may never be a universal “cure,” research like this brings us something just as vital: hope.