SIMPLIFIED: "How CRISPR Is Changing Cancer Research and Treatment"

Link to original article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02648725.2018.1482108#d1e180

Authors of original article: National Cancer Institute Staff

This image was taken from the original article: https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/crispr-cancer-research-treatment

Simplified Version (written by Simplifying STEM):

In this NIH article, “How CRISPR Is Changing Cancer Research and Treatment”, the main point is that CRISPR is a powerful gene-editing tool that allows scientists to change DNA, and researchers are exploring ways to use it to better understand, detect, and treat cancer. To understand what this means, it is important to understand what CRISPR even is. CRISPR is a biotechnology tool that allows scientists to edit the DNA of living organisms. DNA is the place inside the cell that holds the instruction manual for the development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms. Sometimes there are mistakes in the instructions, and these mistakes can cause cancer. CRISPR is valuable in that it is able to go into the DNA and specifically edit sections of DNA. In other works, CRISPR works like scissors; they find the specific piece of DNA, cut it, remove it, replace it, and then modify it.

CRISPR is crucial for cancer because of the rapid development of cancer; after all, cells have genetic mutations that cause them to grow uncontrollably. Through CRISPR, scientists can understand which mutations cause cancer, study how tumors grow, and develop new treatments.

Researchers use CRISPR in three different ways. First, scientists can intentionally edit genes in cells or animals. For example, if researchers suspect Gene X causes cancer, they can use CRISPR to remove that gene and observe what happens. This allows them to identify which specific genes are involved in cancer development. Second, researchers are able to find new drug targets. Once researchers know which genes help cancer survive, they can design drugs that target those genes. Scientists can systematically turn genes on or off and see which ones cancer cells need to survive. Lastly, through CRISPR, researchers can improve immunotherapy. Usually, the immune system attacks harmful invaders, but cancer is more tricky because cancer cells often hide from the immune system. Researchers use CRISPR as a way to modify immune cells so they become better cancer fighters. The process for this is that researchers take immune cells from a patient, use CRISPR to edit the cells, make the cells better at recognizing tumors, and then put the cells back into the patient.

The article discusses early clinical trials where researchers used CRISPR to modify patients’ immune cells. The researchers’ goal was not to cure cancer immediately but to test whether or not it was safe to use. Researchers were able to find that the edited cells could survive in the body and the procedure appeared feasible.

Even though CRISPR may seem perfect, there are some challenges that are faced. Scientists worry about editing the wrong DNA location, unexpected side effects, delivering CRISPR to the right cells, and ensuring edits remain safe long-term. Because of these concerns, research needs to proceed with caution while testing and using CRISPR.

The article mentions the 2019 clinical trial at the University of Pennsylvania, which launched the first US clinical trial using CRISPR to create a cancer treatment. The purpose of this was to modify a patient’s own immune cells, called T cells, so they could better find and attack cancer cells. Scientists first removed T cells from patients and used CRISPR to edit their DNA. They added a new receptor that helped the cells recognize a cancer marker called NY-ESO-1 and removed three genes that could interfere with the cells’ ability to fight cancer. The modified cells were multiplied and then infused back into the patients. The treatment was then tested in three patients with advanced cancer (stage 3 or 4). By testing it in three patients, researchers determined that CRISPR was safe, with no serious problems in the edited cells. Even though there were some unintended DNA edits, there was no evidence that those caused new cancers. Although the treatment was safe, only two of the three patients experienced a temporary slowdown in tumor growth, while the third did not benefit.

Although this was the first trial, there are still a lot of questions about all the ways that CRISPR can help cancer research. As scientists continue to improve the technology, CRISPR has the potential to transform how cancer is studied and lead to new cancer-related treatments.