Revolutionary Cancer Breakthroughs: From Digital Twins to Personalized Vaccines and Precision Targeting

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 5-22-2025:

• Dr. Dawn explores groundbreaking cancer research using high-throughput "digital twin" analysis to reverse colon cancer cells back to normal states, identifying three master molecular switches that can induce normal cell differentiation without killing the cancer cells, thus avoiding traditional chemotherapy side effects.
• She discusses remarkable results from Memorial Sloan Kettering showing 80% of patients with mismatch repair deficient tumors, including all 49 rectal cancer patients, saw complete tumor disappearance after six months of dostarlimab immunotherapy, with no recurrence at five years and minimal side effects.
• The program covers innovative CRISPR applications, including targeting previously "undruggable" cancer mutations like KRAS and BRAF by selectively degrading mutant RNA messages while preserving healthy genes, offering unprecedented precision in cancer treatment.
• Dr. Dawn explains a clever immunotherapy approach that disguises tumors as pig organs using Newcastle disease virus carrying alpha-gal enzyme, tricking the immune system into mounting fierce attacks against cancer cells, showing promising results in both monkey and human trials.
• She describes fascinating research using cryoshocked tumor cells as Trojan horses, where liquid nitrogen-treated cancer cells carrying CRISPR gene editing tools directly seek out tumors, offering superior targeting compared to injecting CRISPR.
• The show reveals how cancers create protective acid walls around themselves to repel immune cells, with individual cancer cells pumping lactic acid away from the tumor center to form pH 5.3 barriers that kill attacking CD8 T cells within hours.
• Dr. Dawn discusses breakthrough mRNA cancer vaccines for glioblastoma using patients' own tumor cells, showing rapid immune system activation within 48 hours and extending survival in both dogs and humans with this aggressive brain cancer.
• She explores the "flower code" mechanism where cancer cells gaslight healthy cells through epigenetic manipulation, expressing dominant "flower win" codes to overpower normal cells expressing "flower lose" codes in biological turf wars.
• The program addresses systemic problems in cancer classification, explaining how organ-based categorization delays access to effective treatments, with patients waiting years for drugs that could help based on molecular profiles rather than tumor location.
• Dr. Dawn concludes by highlighting medical discrimination against people with Duffy null phenotype, primarily affecting African Americans, whose naturally lower neutrophil counts lead to reduced chemotherapy doses and excluded clinical trial participation despite no increased infection risk.