Scientists have now discovered that a protein linked to cancer growth may also help tumors protect themselves from treatment. The protein, called MYC, is already known for helping cancer cells grow quickly. Now researchers say it also helps damaged cancer cells repair their DNA and stay alive.
Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University conducted the study. Their findings were published in the journal Genes & Development. Researchers believe the discovery could help doctors develop stronger cancer treatments in the future.
Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation usually work by damaging the DNA inside tumor cells. When the DNA becomes too damaged, the cancer cells die. But the new research indicates that MYC may help tumors repair this damage before the cells are destroyed.
Senior researcher Rosalie Sears explained that MYC is doing more than scientists first believed. She said the protein is not only helping cancer grow, but also helping it spread. It is also helping tumors survive treatments that are designed to kill them.
For many years, scientists understood MYC as a protein that controls genes linked to cell growth and energy use. It works inside the nucleus of a cell and switches on genes that help cancer spread rapidly. But the new research found another job performed by MYC.
When DNA inside a cancer cell becomes damaged, a changed form of MYC travels directly to the damaged area. Once there, it helps bring in special repair proteins that fix broken DNA strands. Researchers described this as an unusual role for MYC because it is not simply controlling genes anymore. Instead, it is physically moving to the damaged DNA and helping the repair process happen.
This discovery may explain why some cancers are very difficult to treat. According to the scientists, cancer cells with high MYC activity were much better at repairing DNA damage. These cells also survived stressful conditions more easily, even when exposed to treatments that normally destroy tumors.
The findings were especially important in pancreatic cancer. This cancer is considered one of the deadliest forms of the disease and is often very challenging to treat successfully.
The research team studied pancreatic cancer cells taken from patients. They discovered that tumors with very active MYC also showed stronger DNA repair abilities. Patients with these tumors often had poorer outcomes.
Researcher Gabriel Cohn said MYC may help pancreatic tumors survive extreme stress. Tumor cells in pancreatic cancer often face difficult conditions. They grow rapidly, receive poor blood supply, and experience constant stress from treatments like chemotherapy. Even under these harsh conditions, the cells continue surviving and spreading.
Scientists now believe MYC is one of the reasons why. The protein appears to help tumors manage DNA damage caused by both rapid growth and cancer treatment. By repairing this damage quickly, cancer cells avoid dying.
Researchers say this ability may lead to treatment resistance. In other words, therapies that should destroy tumors become less effective because the cancer cells repair themselves too quickly. This is a major problem in cancer care. Chemotherapy and radiation depend on causing overwhelming DNA damage inside cancer cells. If tumors can repair the damage fast enough, the treatment loses power.
Scientists hope the new discovery could eventually change the game. The study supports ongoing efforts to find ways to block MYC in cancer patients. For many years, researchers described MYC as “undruggable.” This means it has been very difficult to target safely with medicine.
The structure of MYC makes it challenging for drugs to attach to it. Blocking the protein completely could also damage healthy cells in the body. However, researchers now think the DNA repair role of MYC could provide a more precise target.
Instead of shutting down every function of MYC, future treatments may only block the repair activity used by cancer cells. This could make tumors weaker while reducing harm to normal cells. Scientists believe such treatments could improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation.
Rosalie Sears said MYC is one of the most important cancer-causing proteins found in humans. Because of its powerful role in tumor growth and survival, researchers around the world are trying to understand it better. The team hopes their findings will help create therapies that prevent tumors from repairing themselves during treatment. If successful, future drugs could make cancer cells far more vulnerable and easier to destroy.
