Norbert Reich and team at UCSB have discovered a molecular pathway that may explain how a particularly deadly form of cancer develops. The discovery may lead to new cancer therapies that reprogram cells instead of killing them. The research team described how a certain mutation in DNA disrupts cellular function in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. According to the team, there is developing interest in the broader field of epigenetics as a direction for the treatment of cancer. “There’s definitely the idea that this may be a new way of developing therapeutics, because you don’t have to kill the cancer cell,” said Norbert Reich, professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “Almost every cancer therapy that’s out there works on the principle that a cancer cell needs to be killed.” UCSB Featured News

                                                             

Norbert Reich
Credit: Rod Rolle