Scientists from the United Kingdom (UK) have hailed their discovery of three genes linked to the most common form of breast cancer as groundbreaking. The new discoveries’ activity is unlikely to be affected by current treatments, such as tamoxifen, which target the oestrogen receptor. This could mean that they are potential targets for new drug treatments.
Hormonal breast cancer, which is diagnosed in 37,000 women in the UK each year, accounts for four out of five of all breast tumors.
Dr. Anita Dunbier, from the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in London, said:
“This is a surprising discovery. We found these genes in a place we thought we knew a lot about…it is like finding gold in Trafalgar Square. We now have to look further at how these genes work, but the discovery could lead to possible new therapies that will benefit women with breast cancer in the future.”
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England.
The team was astonished because the genes were found directly next to the oestrogen receptor gene, the main driver of hormonal breast cancer. The oestrogen receptor has been intensively studied by scientists for decades and is located in one of the most well studied areas of the genome.
The three genes identified were C6ORF96, C6ORF97 and C6ORF211. All three were found to be linked to the estrogen receptor but working separately from it. C6ORF211 was shown to drive the growth of tumors and the team sees this as the most likely target for new treatments. C6ORF97 was shown to be an indicator of a tumor not coming back, and also a good predictor of response to tamoxifen. Less is known about C6ORF96, but it is being researched by the team.
Many breast cancers are sensitive to the hormone estrogen. This means that estrogen causes the breast cancer tumor to grow. Such cancers have estrogen receptors on the surface of their cells. They are called estrogen receptor-positive cancer or ER-positive cancer.
Professor Mitch Dowsett, who leads the team at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the ICR, adds:
“This research is exciting because it shows that while the oestrogen receptor is the main driver of hormonal breast cancer, there are others next door to it that also appears to influence breast cancer behavior. We now need to better understand how they work together and how we can utilize them to save lives of women with breast cancer.”
It is reported that one in eight women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some point in their lifetime. The good news is that more women than ever in the UK are surviving breast cancer thanks to better awareness, better treatments and better screening.
Concerning the United States and according to the American Cancer Society, about 1.3 million women will be diagnosed with breast cancer annually worldwide and about 465,000 will die from the disease.
Breast cancer rates decreased by about 2% between 1998 and 2007 according to the Society. However, this decrease was only among women aged 50 and older. Deaths from breast cancer have decreased too since 1990, likely from earlier detection and advances in treatment. About 1 in 35 women die from breast cancer in the U.S.A.
Sources: PLoS Genetics and Breakthrough Breast Cancer UK
Written by Sy Kraft