Colon cancer is often driven by cancer stem cells, which resist treatment and lead to relapse. In a recent study, researchers from Japan revealed how transcription factors CDX1 and CDX2 suppress cancer cell stemness by blocking β-catenin’s ability to activate key genes like LGR5. Their findings showed that CDX1/2 prevent the formation of key transcriptional complexes involving DSIF and PAF1, identifying these as critical regulators and potential therapeutic targets in colon cancer.

Summary

CORNETO is a new computational tool that helps researchers combine different types of biological data with prior biological knowledge to map how molecules like genes and proteins interact inside cells.

By analysing different samples together at once, CORNETO shows which biological processes are common and which are unique across cell types and conditions. 

Researchers have used CORNETO to reveal shared and cell-specific pathways in disease research, e.g. to identify signalling pathways associated with chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer patients.

Results of a study led by VHIO’s Prostate Cancer Group suggest that treatment with CDK4/6 inhibitors followed by senloytic therapies and PARP inhibitors could improve outcomes and combat cancer drug resistance in advanced prostate cancer.