Gene-Editing Technology May Help Ward-Off Cancer

Cells modified using gene-editing technology may soon be of great hope for those with cancer, report a team led by Lu You, an oncologist at Sichuan University's West China Hospital in Chengdu. The team received ethical approval from the //hospital's review board for the clinical trial to test gene-edited cells on lung cancer, according to scientific journal Nature.

The cells will be modified using CRISPR-Cas9 -- a new method of genetic engineering that allows scientists to edit DNA with precision and relative ease. "This technique is of great promise in bringing benefits to patients, especially the cancer patients whom we treat every day," said Lu.

CRISPR stands for clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats -- regular patterns of DNA sequences which can be edited out of genes. Cas9 is a type of modified protein injected into a body to work on the DNA, like a pair of scissors that can snip the genes.

The technique is based on a decade-old discovery that certain bacterial cells can identify invading viruses and chop up their DNA. CRISPR-Cas9 adapts that technique to allow us to edit genes, removing harmful diseases and even allowing the creation of hybrid human-animal organs to fill the transplant gap.

Source-Medindia