Blocking ZFP36L2 protein could disrupt colorectal cancer spread, study finds

In the ceaseless renewal of the gut's lining lies a biological program so elegant that cancer has learned to steal it. Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have identified ZFP36L2, a protein that acts as a molecular dimmer switch governing how cells rewind into stem-like states during injury — and how metastatic colorectal cancer exploits that same pathway to colonize distant organs. Published in Nature on August 5, 2026, the findings suggest that disrupting this switch could trap cancer cells in a lethal stress state, while also revealing why a small subset of tumors, strippe