DNA methylation regulates gene function through epigenetics.

It prevents unnecessary genes from functioning, creating individual cells and maintaining the normal functioning of our bodies.

However, when DNA methylation becomes abnormal, it can inhibit the function of genes necessary for each cell, or promote genes that should be suppressed.

For example, it has been found that when cancer cells are collected, abnormalities in DNA methylation are present. While cancer is normally prevented by the action of tumor-suppressing genes, in some cases, abnormalities in methylation can prevent these tumor-suppressing genes from functioning, leading to cancer development.

In such cases, it is believed that if DNA methylation can be normalized using drugs that control the epigenetic state, it may be possible to treat the cancer.

Can cancer be cured by reprogramming (resetting) cancer cells?

It is believed that repairing gene mutations or epigenetic abnormalities can reverse cancerous transformation back to normal.

Similar to the reprogramming of somatic cells into iPS cells, the concept of reprogramming cancer cells to return them to normal cells is becoming established.

There have been published reports of reprogramming mouse melanoma cells, which are cancer cells, and other research teams have also announced that when they added two types of chemical substances, including anticancer drugs, to human liver cancer stem cells in a culture dish, 85-90% of the cancer cells became normal liver cells after two days. Furthermore, they succeeded in reprogramming iPS cells by adding two genes and two types of chemical substances, and returning them to normal liver cells.

We have identified miR-520d, which promotes the formation of iPS cells in cancer cells, among the approximately 2700 types of miRNAs already known. We have found that small molecule compounds that inhibit the methylation-related enzymes HAT1 and KAT8 enhance the function of miR-520d. Furthermore, these compounds have been shown to upregulate the tumor suppressor gene p53, thereby inducing apoptosis in cancer cells. At our hospital, we propose cancer treatment by administering these compounds to demethylate and reprogram cancer cells. Several clinical cases have suggested efficacy against cancer, and no serious adverse events have been reported.

Reprogramming therapy, which involves administering genes or chemical substances to restore cells to a normal state, is expected to lead to treatments for cancer and diabetes. It has been reported that major pharmaceutical companies are focusing their development efforts on this therapy, as it is seen as a treatment with no side effects and the potential to cure even intractable diseases.

However, a problem exists: even if cancer cells are reprogrammed into normal cells, to actually achieve cancer treatment, it’s necessary to reprogram cancer cells in the living body, not just in a culture dish, with 100% efficiency. Generally, even early-stage cancers detected by imaging tests are thought to consist of 100 million cancer cells. Even if 99.9% of cancer cells could be reprogrammed into normal cells, 100,000 cancer cells would still be needed for recurrence, making it insufficient from the perspective of a complete cure.

Therefore, Saisei no Mori Clinic Roppongi has devised the Saisei no Mori cancer treatment method, which uses these small molecule compounds to shrink cancer to one-thousandth of its original size, a level at which cancer immunotherapy is effective, and then treats the remaining cancer cells in combination with NK cell therapy, macrophage activation therapy, and other therapies. It is expected to be particularly effective against advanced, highly malignant undifferentiated or poorly differentiated cancers. It can also be used as a second opinion for cancer treatment.