California, Oct. 2 -- Cancer cells are relentless in their drive to expand and divide, frequently reprogramming their metabolism and modifying RNA to stay one step ahead.

Researchers at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Centre have identified a single protein, IGF2BP3, that links these two processes together in leukaemia cells. The protein alters how cells break down sugar, favouring a fast but inefficient energy pathway, while also modifying RNA that helps produce the proteins leukaemia cells need to survive and multiply.

The discovery positions IGF2BP3 as a "master switch" in leukaemia, linking metabolism and RNA regulation, processes long thought to operate independently. Understanding this connection could pave the way fo...