AI芯視界

On the biotechnological front. Local researchers have come up with a groundbreaking method..to reverse lung cancer cells to a point where they are treatable even after they spread to other organs. Our Cho Sung-min explains.
Lung cancer was the number one cause of death among all cancer patients in South Korea in 2021, according to a government report. If detected early, lung cancer can be fully cured. But the survival rate plummets to 9 percent once the cancer spreads to other organs.
To increase the survival rate, a South Korean research team has developed new technology that potentially enhances how the disease is treated. It's based on reversing cancerous cells into a condition where they can be treated. Before this technology was developed, cancerous cells or tumors, in their early stages, were not treatable with existing medication. And when they deteriorate, they spread to other parts of the body.
The scientists used computer simulations to analyze lung cancer genes and discovered three key genes that can be reverted back to the non-spreading phase which makes them treatable. "By inputting components of the lung cancer cells with the ability to spread to other organs into a computer simulation, we found the genetic combinations that can switch the cells back to the stage stripped of metastasis."
In addition, this method doesn't just apply to lung cancer. The researchers said the discovery is meaningful in that it paves the way for a new method to treat the disease.
"Because this treatment method involves changing the cancer cells' characteristics, not killing them, it has a minimal effect on the normal cells. It's a new concept of treatment that's like safely treating diabetes or high blood pressure and maintaining health for a long time."
The team plans to commercialize this technology with a local bio company. They expect to carry out a clinical trial on people in the next five to six years. Cho Sung-min, Arirang News.