Mouse model study captures earliest moments of cancer formation in living tissue

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have discovered how healthy stem cells are transformed into cancer stem cells in the earliest stages of the disease. This is the first ever study to use technologies like cell tracing and multi-omics at the resolution of single cells to follow the real-time progression of cell changes in a living organism.

Around 30% of oral cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The researchers found that activating a signaling protein called YAP (yes-associated protein, a transcription factor involved in stem cell maintenance and growth promotion) in combination with HPV oncogenes (genes inhibiting the normal suppression of tumor growth) triggered the transformation of normal stem cells into cancer cells in a mere 10 days.

As the next step, the team will deep dive into why and how normal stem cells transfrom into cancer stem cells in HPV-negative oral cancers, and whether recently developed drugs aimed at blocking the YAP function could provide new treatment options for oral cancers.

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