Columbia Awarded One of First "Provocative Questions" Grants from NCI
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - 15:31
in Biology & Nature
Since the 1980s, scientists have thought that DNA methylation (a mechanism cells use to lock genes in the "off" position) of tumor suppressor genes drives cells to become cancer cells. But when Columbia's Dr. Bestor tried to find tumor progression driven by methylation in lab research or in literature, they couldn't find any. This led them to an alternative hypothesis: "methylation suicide," in which methylation changes are part of normal pathways that kill cancer cells. Dr. Bestor's NCI grant supports the study of this hypothesis.