A New Cancer Mechanism: Failed Cell Housekeeping
Source: Harvard Medical School, May 2023
At a glance:
- Researchers have identified gene mutations that cause cancer in a previously unknown way.
- Affected cells lose the ability to get rid of defective strands of RNA.
- The findings apply to many different cancers and could lead to development of better treatments for them.Cancer can stem from mutations in many different genes.
New research pinpoints a gene that, when mutated, causes cancer through a mechanism scientists haven’t seen before: cells lose the ability to dispose of their trash, namely defective strands of RNA.