Estrogen Receptor β Limits Tumor Cell Growth and Indicates Outcome

by Bidita Debnath on June 26, 2014 at 10:49 PM

At some point in their lives, millions of women will develop breast cancer.

While many women will completely recover from this cancer, others will not respond to treatment, and predicting which women will not respond to treatment is currently difficult. Breast cancer cells divide rapidly, and treatments that can restrict their growth are of great interest.

Racial Differences in Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Women With Breast Cancer

The rates of increase in black women using sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) to stage early breast cancer is slower than white women, during 2002 to 2007.

In a June 24th study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Rong Li and colleagues at the University of Texas determined that activation of the estrogen receptor β (ERβ) limits tumor cell growth. Cancer cells with activated ERβ did not grow well in culture or in mouse models.

Importantly, breast cancer patients that had activated ERβ in breast tissue had increased disease-free survival. This study suggests that ERβ activation may be useful in evaluating the prognosis of breast cancer patients and that treatment strategies that activate ERβ may be useful for cancer therapy.

Source: Eurekalert

New Weapon Found for Fighting Breast Cancer

Researchers have discovered one reason why some women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer may respond poorly or only temporarily to estrogen-blocking drugs such as tamoxifen.

<< E-surveillance Program may Help Detect Gaps in Outpatient S...

New Method of Penetrating Cells Without Damaging Them >>

Study Confirms 3D Imaging Detects More Breast Cancer Than Digital Mammography Alone

The largest study of its kind to date has revealed that three-dimensional imaging finds more breast cancers than traditional, digital mammography alone.

New Virus Kills Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells and Tumor Cells

Penn State College of Medicine researchers claim that a virus not known to cause disease kills triple-negative breast cancer cells and killed tumors grown from these cells in mice.