Penn Medicine study finds two key phenomena that alter normal cells into cancer

Penn Medicine has discovered two key events that alter normal cells into cancer cells, which may inform the development of new therapies that could treat any tumor type.

In a recently published study, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine found that more than 100 different cancers can arise all over the body, but two universal metabolic pathways may tie them all together. Many researchers have believed all cancers are dictated by a common set of fundamental processes and the exact details have been unknown until now, Penn Medicine News reported. 

“Since the early 1980s, numerous cancer genes have been identified," Xiaolu Yang, cancer biology professor in the Perelman School of Medicine and senior author of the study, told Penn Medicine News. "However, they often affect multiple cellular processes, which makes it very hard to really summarize what exactly turns cells cancerous."

The researchers discovered that the transformation from a phenotypically normal cell to a cancerous one involves the enhancement of two key elements: antioxidant defense and nucleotide synthesis, Penn Medicine News reported. They found that genes associated with cancer super charge some cells to fight off oxidative stress and synthesize nucleotides, which cells need to survive and grow. 

The study, which was published in Cell Metabolism on Nov. 6, suggests that shutting down the metabolic pathways that drives these cellular changes would stop the cells from becoming cancerous. 

The study also found a molecular framework to better understand the genesis of cancer cells and a possible process for improved approaches to treat cancer, the authors told Penn Medicine News. The findings also provide further evidence that antioxidants support tumor growth, rather than decrease it. 

Yang Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher in Yang's lab, is the first author of this study. Other co-authors include Penn postdoctoral researchers Yi Xu and Lili Guo, and A.N. Richards Professor of Pharmacology at Penn Ian Blair, along with Wenyun Lu, Jonathan M. Ghergurovich, and Joshua D. Rabinowitz from Princeton University.