Researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered that cancers arising from epigenetic changes — in this case the inappropriate activation of a normally silent gene — develop by becoming addicted to certain growth factors.

The research team showed that blocking this “addiction” helped prevent cancer growth.

As part of the study, mice that develop colon cancer were given a drug that blocked a cell’s ability to respond to a specific growth factor. Those mice developed 70 percent fewer precancerous lesions than mice without treatment.