Transcription Factor Plays Pivotal Role in Right-Sided Colon Cancers

The colon is often thought of as one organ, but the right and left parts of the colon have different molecular features in cancers. New research in mice from investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center demonstrates that these regions also have distinct transcriptional programs, or cellular processes, that regulate the development of normal and cancerous cells.

Transcription Factors Contribute to Subtypes of Colorectal Cancers

New research in colorectal cancers directed by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center suggests that expression of transcription factors — proteins that help turn specific genes on or off by binding to nearby DNA — may play a central role in the degree of DNA methylation across the genome, contributing to the development of different subtypes of these cancers. Methylation is a process in which certain chemical groups attach to areas of DNA that guide genes’ on/off switches.