Scientists have discovered the trigger that makes breast cancer spread to other organs, raising hopes that a treatment to isolate the disease could be developed.
Most deaths from cancer are caused by secondary tumours, which in the case of breast cancer usually appear in the bones, the liver or the lungs.
But researchers have identified a protein molecule called TARBP2 that appears to allow cancerous cells to migrate to other parts of the body.
When cancer spreads to other parts of the body it becomes much more difficult to treat
Any treatment targeting this protein would dramatically improve the prognosis of breast cancer patients.
Breast tumours are relatively easy to treat because they can be removed simply with surgery or targeted with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
But when the cancer spreads to another part of the body – a process known as metastasis – it becomes much harder to tackle.
Although the finding by scientists at Rockefeller University in the US – which was published in the journal Nature last night – is in its very early stages, it was hailed as a vital clue in the puzzle of how cancer spreads.
Professor Sohail Tavazoie, who led the research, said: ‘If we learn more about how this regulation works, we may in the future be able to generate drugs that prevent this protein from triggering metastatic disease.’
He believes TARBP2 acts as a ‘master regulator’, prompting cancer cells to spread.
Much more work needs to be done before hope of a treatment becomes a reality, but it was developed it could save millions of lives a year.
Scientists all around the world are desperately looking for ways to prevent secondary cancer
Around 50,000 British women and 400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Around 12,000 of them die of the disease annually. That survival rate would be dramatically improved if secondary cancers could be stopped.
Dr Matthew Lam, senior research officer at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: ‘This research is very exciting as it helps to identify the genetic and molecular basis of metastatic breast cancer, which kills around 1,000 UK women each month.
‘With more research like this we hope to be able to develop new treatments which can prevent breast cancer spreading to other organs.’
Nell Barrie, Cancer Research UK’s senior science communications manager, said: ‘Figuring out how molecules can influence a cell’s behaviour by controlling which messages are translated from its DNA is an interesting area of research.
‘But these studies have been carried out in cells in the laboratory and in mice, so it’s too early to see how we might use this information to help tackle cancer in humans.’
Scientists around the world are working to finds ways of stopping secondary cancer. The Mail reported this week how researchers have discovered the mechanism by which cancer cells migrate between organs.
That study, led by scientists at University College London, found that cells have to change state to move along the narrow passages in the body. They also found the way to stop the transition, which could lead to primary tumours being ‘frozen’ in place when they are discovered.
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2686732/How-spread-breast-cancer-stopped-Scientists-uncover-trigger-makes-disease-parts-body.html#ixzz371yE8AOZ
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