Scientists have discovered a gene that drives the growth of colon cancer.
In a world first, researchers found that inflammation in the environment around the tumour can activate what is known as a “super enhancer”.
A super enhancer is a complex area of DNA that can control whether a cancer cell is malignant – and in this case it regulates a gene called PDZK1IP1.
The researchers at Mount Sinai’s Tisch Cancer Institute in New York had been unaware that PDZK1IP1 was a cancer gene, and found that deleting it led to a slowdown in the growth of the tumours.
Their peer-reviewed findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, suggest PDZK1IP1 and its super enhancer could become targets for anti-cancer therapies.
Ramon Parsons, director of the cancer institute and the study’s senior author, said: “What this means for most patients with colon cancer is that inflammation that’s occurring in the tumour is contributing to the tumour’s growth.
“This stresses the importance of understanding what we can do to curb the inflammatory effects in the colon through prevention, or understanding what dietary effects might have on the microenvironment in the colon.
“In terms of treatment, we have genetic evidence that targeting this gene actually inhibits tumours.
“By understanding all these different components, we will have better tools to try to prevent the disease.”
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The researchers made their discovery by studying live tumour tissue and surrounding healthy tissue immediately after surgery on 15 colon cancer patients.
Royce Zhou, one of the authors, said: “This cancer is reliant on surgery for treatment, and immunotherapies that have revolutionised the treatment of advanced cancer have only worked for a small subset of colon cancer patients.
“That’s why there’s a great need for novel target identification.”
