Tumor cells may fracture their own DNA while driving rapid growth

Scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have mapped where the most severe DNA damage occurs in cancer genomes and discovered a concentration of double-strand breaks at super-enhancers, the DNA segments that amplify growth-related genes. The research, published in Science Advances, indicates that the relentless transcription driven by these regions physically strains the DNA, causing it to snap. Tumor cells repeatedly mend these lesions, but each repair cycle can insert minor mutations, gradually increasing genetic instability.

This process may help cancers evolve, acquire aggressiveness, or develop drug resistance. Because tumors depend on this high-stress DNA landscape, interfering with super-enhancer activity or the repair machinery could expose a vulnerability. The findings open a new avenue for therapies aimed at destabilizing the very drivers of tumor proliferation.