If CRISPR allows to target specific genes, and cancer occurs when cell’s DNA changes to multiply uncontrollably and refuse the immune system’s orders to die, why can’t we just use CRISPR to solve most of the cancers?

Question

I guess there could be many genes that affect the “grow uncontrollably” part or the “refuse to die” part, but can’t we just target all of them?

In: Biology

Answer 1

We don’t want to fix cancer cells, we want to destroy them. Cancers divide uncontrollably and invade other tissues, you don’t want to fix a lung cancer cell that is in the liver, you want to destroy it.

We also cant deliver gene editing tools to cells very effectively and so you generally have to remove the cells to edit them which defeats the whole purpose.

We do use gene editing to destroy cancer cells indirectly though, for example CAR T cell therapy involves removing bone marrow, modifying it so it will make immune cells that hunt down your specific cancer, and then putting the marrow back into you.