CRISPR Technology in Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment: Opportunities and Challenges

Behrouz Shademan1, Sepideh Masjedi2, Vahidreza Karamad1

  • 1Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, EGE University, Izmir, Turkey.

Biochemical Genetics
|January 29, 2022
PubMed

Insights

The CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool offers potential for cancer therapy by correcting mutations. Further research is needed to improve its efficiency and specificity for clinical application in cancer treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • CRISPR-Cas9 is a novel gene editing tool derived from prokaryotic adaptive immunity.
  • It has been applied in human cancer research, showing therapeutic potential for genetic diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review CRISPR-Cas9's molecular mechanisms for treating cancer.
  • To focus on its application in cancer treatment and prevention, addressing both promise and limitations.

Main Methods:

  • Review of CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
  • Focus on molecular-level cancer treatment strategies.
  • Examination of epigenetic modifications and gene regulation.

Main Results:

  • CRISPR-Cas9 technology can modify the genome for therapeutic purposes.
  • The system has potential in gene therapy for curing genetic diseases, including cancer.
  • Challenges remain in improving efficiency, specificity, and clinical application.

Conclusions:

  • CRISPR-Cas9 holds significant promise for cancer therapy and prevention.
  • Further development is crucial to overcome current limitations for effective clinical translation.
  • Understanding its impact on the epigenome is key to its successful application.

Related Concept Videos

CRISPR01:59

CRISPR

Genome editing technologies allow scientists to modify an organism’s DNA via the addition, removal, or rearrangement of genetic material at specific genomic locations. These types of techniques could potentially be used to cure genetic disorders such as hemophilia and sickle cell anemia. One popular and widely used DNA-editing research tool that could lead to safe and effective cures for genetic disorders is the CRISPR-Cas9 system. CRISPR-Cas9 stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced...
53.3K
CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing01:28

CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing

The CRISPR-Cas system serves as a bacterial defense mechanism against invading genetic elements such as viruses and plasmids, forming the foundation for its adaptation as a powerful genome-editing tool. Originally discovered in prokaryotes, this system has been repurposed to revolutionize genetic engineering across a wide range of organisms, including plants, animals, and humans. The core component, Cas9, is an endonuclease derived from Streptococcus pyogenes, capable of introducing...
535
CRISPR and crRNAs02:53

CRISPR and crRNAs

Bacteria and archaea are susceptible to viral infections just like eukaryotes; therefore, they have developed a unique adaptive immune system to protect themselves. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated proteins (CRISPR-Cas) are present in more than 45% of known bacteria and 90% of known archaea.
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...
17.6K
Homologous Recombination02:31

Homologous Recombination

The basic reaction of homologous recombination (HR) involves two chromatids that contain DNA sequences sharing a significant stretch of identity. One of these sequences uses a strand from another as a template to synthesize DNA in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction. The final product is a novel amalgamation of the two substrates. To ensure an accurate recombination of sequences, HR is restricted to the S and G2 phases of the cell cycle. At these stages, the DNA has been replicated already and the...
54.9K
What is Genetic Engineering?00:49

What is Genetic Engineering?

Overview
76.0K