Targeting rogue DNA fragments may curb aggressive cancer, say scientists

Scientists have raised hopes of treating some of the most aggressive cases of cancer by targeting small fragments of rogue DNA that help tumours thrive and become resistant to chemotherapy.

- Ian Sample

The breakthrough emerged from a US-UK study that found many hard-to-treat cancers contained loops of malignant genetic material that were crucial for the tumours to survive and withstand treatment.

Tests on a total of 39 different tumour types from nearly 15,000 UK patients revealed more than one in six cancers had extrachromosomal DNA, or ecDNA - the loops of genetic code that can make tumours harder to treat.

The analysis cast light on how ecDNA drives cancer growth and resistance and led researchers to identify a new drug, already in early stage clinical trials, that has the potential to selectively destroy affected cells and prevent tumours from evolving rapid resistance.