Parsing metabolic regulatory mechanisms in cancer recurrence

Despite the success of modern cancer therapy, renewed tumor growth after long apparently disease- free periods (cancer recurrence) remains a major concern for cancer survivors. Life-long health risks and uncertainty can eventually impair life quality of cancer survivors and limit the prospects for a healthy aging. In this project, we build on previous findings in our lab that cancer cells in a quiescent state can survive for extended periods without undergoing cell division, making them tolerant to conventional anti-cancer treatments. These cells can spontaneously return to the characteristic fast cancer cell growth, which we found to be driven by an adaptation of cellular metabolism. By searching for the regulators of this metabolic adaptation using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology, in this project we will take first steps towards developing pharmacological strategies to disrupt the metabolic adaptation of resting cancer cells to minimize the risk of cancer recurrence.