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A cancerous tumor can destroy itself
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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American researchers have found a “weak spot” in cancerous tumors: it turns out that it is possible to launch a program of self-destruction of malignant cells and thereby cure a serious disease.
Scientists introduced human colon cancer cells and lymphoma into rats. They found that inhibiting specific protein structures that feed the tumor causes its death.
At the moment, researchers already have ready-made medications that suppress such a protein structure as ATF4. World medicine has every chance to soon receive innovative antitumor agents that can selectively suppress the development of malignant cells.
Leading specialist of the scientific work Dr. Koumenis assured that scientists are going in the right direction and will soon be able to completely stop the growth of neoplasms without the possibility of tumor relapse. Moreover, there is confidence that the discovered "weak spot" is relevant to many oncological pathologies.
A huge number of cellular structures in the human body die every day just to protect other cells from potential dangers. At the same time, a cancerous tumor ignores this behavior of the immune defense. How to force a neoplasm to self-destruct? This question has troubled scientists for a long time. And only now the team, accompanied by Dr. Koumenis, has achieved a result by connecting to ATF4 in the structures of the intestine, breast and human lymphoma and rats with induced lymphoma. It was discovered that ATF4 is responsible for the entire biochemical direction, functioning simultaneously with the gene. If this direction is stopped, the malignant cells will produce a large amount of protein and die.
When the scientists managed to “switch off” ATF4 in tumors and rats, it was discovered that the pathological cells continued to accumulate the protein substance 4E-BP and subsequently died as a result of stress. A similar mechanism “worked” in inhibiting the development of lymphoma and colon cancer in animals. In human tumors caused by mutational changes in MYC, an increase in the expression of ATF4 and 4E-BP is also noted. Dr. Koumenis points to the involvement of this fact in the supposed success of the discovery.
Medicines that inhibit the biological synthesis of ATF4 (stands for activating transcription factor 4) are not new; they are produced by pharmaceutical companies and are used to treat many pathologies, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson'sdiseases.
According to the research results, the impact on ATF4 is effective in relation to MYC-dependent neoplasms. Experiments are currently being conducted to determine the possible side effects of such treatment in cancer patients.
The results of the scientific work were published in Sciencedaily.