CRISPR-Cas genome editing tool: a narrow lane of cancer therapeutics with potential blockades

• Published in: Translational cancer research Vol. 9; no. 4; pp. 3135 - 3141
• Main Authors: Bhatkar, Devyani, Sarode, Sachin C, Sarode, Gargi S, Patil, Shankargouda, Sharma, Nilesh Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China AME Publishing Company 01.04.2020
• Subjects: Review on Oral Pre-cancer and Cancer; clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated nucleases (CRISPR-Cas); epigenetic; DNA; transcriptional regulation; Neoplasms
• ISSN: 2218-676X; 2219-6803
• DOI: 10.21037/tcr.2020.02.33

In recent, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated nucleases (Cas) system is emerging as a versatile genome editing tool with applications in basic science, preclinical and translational biology. This CRISPR-Cas genome editing tool is known as a precise and effective option to correct a part of the genome that may have implications in many human diseases including cancer associated genes such as oncogenes and onco-suppressors. Besides robust potential to edit target genes, CRISPR-Cas editing technology displays cellular alterations in the form of activation of DNA double strand break repair system and bringing genomic instability. As a consequence of repair of DNA double strand breaks, highly mitotically active cells may face hyper-DNA repair systems and there may be sometimes a situation leading to error prone mutations and unwanted genomic integrity. Additionally, the use of CRISPR-Cas editing technology in cancer therapy is limited in the backdrop of genotype and epigenomic heterogeneity in tumors. Therefore, a precaution should be considered to employ CRISPR-Cas technology in cancer therapy in view of tumor heterogeneity and environmental pressure.