Scientists at Monash University, working with Harvard University, report they have found a way to permanently ‘switch off’ genes that help cancers survive. If the approach holds up in further testing, it could point to a new style of treatment that works with shorter courses and fewer of the harsh side effects that often come with long, continuous cancer therapy.

The team described the work in Nature Cell Biology. Their focus is epigenetic therapy, which aims to change how genes behave rather than rewriting the genes themselves. You can think of epigenetics as the cell’s operating instructions for when to read a gene and when to keep it quiet. Cancer mutations can corrupt those instructions, locking dangerous growth programs in the “on” position.