Breast Cancer Progression Pathways

Researchers are analyzing the genomic data to find new pathways and genes that led to breast cancer progression. This research is expected to lead the way toward the discovery of new targeted therapies against breast cancer, according to a study presented at the Second AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research, held here Sept. 14-18, 2011.

For example, the researchers found that a diuretic used to treat hypertension and edema also stops breast cancer cells from progressing, although this potential treatment is a long way from human trials, said lead researcher Bin Zhang, Ph.D., principal scientist and group leader at Sage Bionetworks in Seattle, Wash.

Screening for Breast Cancer with Clinical Breast Examination
Clinical breast examination is a simple and inexpensive method of detecting breast cancer especially in women who do not have access to mammography.

"We tried to objectively derive a global picture of how genes interact with each other to impact cancer progression so that we could understand holistically the mechanisms underlying this complex disease. Then, we can systematically identify optimal intervention points for drug development," he said.

The researchers found that many genes function as groups corresponding to different pathways, so future targeted therapies would work better if they target more than one pathway. This also gives credence to the idea that using combination therapy against the different genetic pathways might help fight cancer better.

Although they tested breast cancer cells, Zhang said, their methods could be used to test other cancers and even other diseases.

Quiz on Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women. It is often said that a woman who breast-feeds is at a lower risk of developing cancer compared to another who does not .Are these mere old wives tales or is there some truth in it? This quiz on breast cancer has all the details.

"There is an enormous amount of cancer characterization data available, yet it remains challenging to establish models that predict tumor progression and drug response. We developed complex and advanced algorithms to reconstruct multiscale gene regulatory networks that reveal global patterns of gene interactions in cancer and also detail regulatory maps," he said. "These networks will serve as a blueprint for us to understand cancer progression and develop novel therapeutics."

Zhang and colleagues have found a diuretic used to treat hypertension and edema affected the progression of cancer cells. They predicted and successfully validated its novel effectiveness in preferentially killing cancer cells through inhibiting cell cycle pathways that are responsible for uncontrolled cell proliferation.

Breast Self Examination
Slides and animation of Breast Self Examination for early detection of breast cancer lumps in women

Based on their prediction, they believe this drug is as effective in culture as several marketed cancer drugs. However, there is still some time until it can be tested in people, according to Zhang.

Source-Newswise

Gene Therapy Effective Against Stubborn Breast Cancer Cells
Gene therapy could be effective against some stubborn breast cancer cells, it has been found. The targeted therapy causes the cells to self-destruct, lowers chance of recurrence.