Gene Editing: The Cure for Cancer?
Written by Audrey Bantug
Edited by Claire Fargeix
Jan 31, 2021
Edited by Claire Fargeix
Jan 31, 2021
Yes, you can literally edit your genes! CRISPR, which stands for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,” is a system that came from a defense mechanism in bacteria, but is now being used by scientists for gene editing. Essentially, it is a complex of proteins that are guided to a specific region of DNA where they can cut out some genetic material. This system was an amazing discovery because it had large implications for human health, specifically for personalized medicine. While humans do share most of our DNA with each other, it is ultimately unique to each of us. Gene editing can therefore be fine-tuned to each person to help with their specific needs. The human diseases whose treatments with CRISPR are under development include dementia, cancer, muscular dystrophy, AIDS, sickle cell disease, hemophilia, and autism.
CRISPR can actually be used in several ways when trying to treat cancer. It can be helpful for figuring out which genes lead to drug resistance so that more effective drugs can be used. It can also be used to make non-human (usually mouse) cells into better human models, helping to improve research quality. More directly, CRISPR can deactivate or remove parts of genes known to be correlated with cancer to reduce someone’s risk of developing it.
Cancer is not the only disease with the potential to be treated with gene editing. Scientists found a DNA site related to dementia that could be altered using CRISPR. Their study resulted in a reduction of symptoms, but many more trials are needed to improve results. Gene editing also shows promise for treating AIDS, where it has better and more long-term effects than other common treatments using a different gene editing technology (CRISPR is not the only way to edit your genes, but it is the method most talked about and that shows a lot of promise!).
Gene editing, while having exciting possibilities for treating human disease, is not a perfect system by any means. The main problem is the fact that CRISPR can have negative effects, like causing harmful mutations in areas besides the target region of DNA. This is worrying because if we want to use it for treatment, we do not want to cause harm at the same time. There are several other more complicated issues, such as disparities between mouse and human responses to treatment and differences in the bacteria used, that we need to overcome before CRISPR can be used reliably in humans. One promising factor in the quality of editing is to use a specific bacteria for harvesting the proteins, but it is clearly not the whole picture.
While CRISPR has its problems, it has come a very long way since its discovery in 1987, only about 30 years ago. Is it the cure for cancer? Maybe, or maybe not. Only hard work, good research, and time (of course!) will tell.
Works Cited
Alagoz, Meryem, and Nasim Kherad. “Advance genome editing technologies in the treatment of human diseases: CRISPR therapy (Review).” International Journal of Molecular Medicine vol. 46,2 (2020): 521-534. doi:10.3892/ijmm.2020.4609