The scientists worked with patients with metastatic melanoma. Because surgery was unfeasible, the volunteers were offered standard chemotherapy, but within a year, most developed resistance to the treatment. To address this, the scientists focused on a common NRAS mutation and used CRISPR gene editing.
Experiments on patient cell cultures have shown that CRISPR successfully targets NRAS and restores cell sensitivity to drugs without side effects, EurekAlert writes . "Importantly, the treatment is tumor-specific and targets only cancer cells without harming healthy cells," the scientists emphasized.
They previously achieved similar results in treating lung tumors: CRISPR successfully disabled target genes and also combated resistance. They plan to test the approach on various tumor types soon to assess its versatility. Once the treatment reaches clinical trials, patients will be able to receive it intravenously or by direct injection into the tumor site.
Previously, CRISPR restored hearing in mice with congenital deafness in other studies. The treatment even helped older animals with a rare inherited form of deafness.
