CRISPR in clinical oncology: translational advances from molecular diagnostics to therapeutics

Grigg, S; Shembrey, C; Fareh, M; Blombery, P; Corn, JE; Seymour, JF; Casan, JML

Author(s): Grigg, S; Shembrey, C; Fareh, M; Blombery, P; Corn, JE; Seymour, JF; Casan, JML;
Details: Publication Year 2026-10,Volume 23,Issue #10,Page 743-765
Journal Title: Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology
Publication Type: Review
Abstract: Cancer care is increasingly driven by molecular classification, yet many key oncogenic drivers remain undruggable, and intrinsic or acquired resistance to treatment frequently limits durable clinical benefit. CRISPR-Cas technologies provide a modular, programmable platform to interrogate and directly manipulate cancer biology via sequence-specific targeting of DNA or RNA and have advanced from experimental tools to the early stages of clinical translation. In this Review, we outline how CRISPR-enabled functional genomics approaches can reveal unexpected cancer dependencies and resistance mechanisms. We discuss emerging applications of CRISPR-based diagnostics in oncology that convert precise nucleic acid sequence recognition into rapid mutation detection. We also discuss applications of CRISPR in therapeutic strategies ranging from ex vivo immune cell engineering to nascent in vivo interventions that directly target tumour-related sequences such as fusion junctions or single-nucleotide variants. Finally, we highlight technological and regulatory challenges, including effective delivery of the editing machinery to cells in vivo, safety and platform-level regulatory frameworks, that will determine the clinical utility of CRISPR-based diagnostics and therapies in oncology.
Publisher: Springer Nature
Keywords: Humans; *Neoplasms/genetics/therapy/diagnosis; *CRISPR-Cas Systems; Translational Research, Biomedical; *Pathology, Molecular/methods; *Gene Editing/methods; *Medical Oncology/methods; Animals; Genetic Therapy/methods; *Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
Department(s): Haematology; Pathology; Laboratory Research; Collaborative Centre for Genomic Cancer Medicine
Publisher's Version: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-026-01179-2
Open Access at Publisher's Site: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41571-026-01179-2
Terms of Use/Rights Notice: Refer to copyright notice on published article.

Creation Date: 2026-08-04 04:43:04

Last Modified: 2026-11-12 06:04:09