Scary 'dark matter' right in the body, associated with many types of cancer

Canadian scientists have identified a frightening element in the body related to liver, brain and blood cancers that they call the dark matter of human cancer DNA.

The study, published in the journal Nature of the Ontario Institute of Cancer Research (OICR - Canada), has attacked non-coding DNA, which makes up 98% of the genome but is difficult to study. They have identified a potential "dark matter" in the human body that could pave the way for more advanced, more effective cancer treatments.

Cancer cell - (illustration image from internet).

Dr. Lincoln Stein, co-leader of the research team, said he and his colleagues have discovered a change in a character of the DNA code that can control many types of human cancers, in other words, a The mechanism of causing cancer has never been known.

The change is a mutation called U1-snRNA , which can disrupt the binding of normal RNA (RNA is also a nucleic acid like DNA, also a genetic material, but different in sugar molecules and a number of roles in the body). This process alters the transcription process of genes that help the body fight cancer itself.

The discovery of U1-snRNA - "dark matter" - has helped scientists find the roots of some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers and have the highest mortality rates, including liver cancer, brain and blood. It can be said that it was a typo in the human genome. The good news is that it can be overcome with some of the cancer drugs already on the market. Scientists are only left to find the right regimen.

In the study , this "dark matter" was found in tumors of patients with malignant mediastinal tumors, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, hepatocellular carcinoma, etc. They also analyzed data from The whole Cancer Genome Analysis (PCAWG) project was led by OICR, with 2,800 genomes analyzed.