Study sheds light on breast cancer drug failure

	Tweet

The most commonly used breast cancer drug may cause tumors to spread in a small number of women with low levels of a protein which makes cells stick together, British researchers said on Thursday.

The findings could lead to new tests to determine which women are not likely to benefit from tamoxifen and who should be given other drugs, said Stephen Hiscox, a cancer researcher at Cardiff University, who led the study.

“We found something that could be potentially used as a biomarker to determine which kind of drugs they should get because they have low levels of this protein,” he said in a telephone interview.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide, according to the American Cancer Society. The group estimates about 465,000 women died of breast cancer globally in 2007 and 1.3 million new cases were diagnosed.

Declining death rates from breast cancer in developed countries have been attributed to early detection through mammography screening and to improved treatment.

Tamoxifen is given to most women for five years after they are diagnosed with breast cancer to prevent the disease from returning, but some develop resistance, which means their tumor is more likely to recur.

Last month, a British team identified another protein—called Pax2—which helped explain why some women developed resistance to tamoxifen. The generic drug works by blocking oestrogen from causing wild cell growth in breast cancer.

In their study published in the BioMed Central journal Breast Cancer Research, Hiscox and colleagues analyzed breast cancer cells in a lab and a protein which makes cells stick together called E-cadherin.

They found when the protein was at reduced levels tamoxifen caused cancer cells to move around much more aggressively, an initial step in the spread of a tumor, he said.

The researchers did not determine an actual level of the protein that would cause tamoxifen to fail but Hiscox said this would be the next step in their work.

The lab results could also lead to a clinical test to pinpoint women who should be given so-called aromatase inhibitors such as AstraZeneca Plc’s Arimidex which deplete oestrogen in a different way, he said.

“People with low levels of E-cadherin may be more suited to these other drugs,” Hiscox said.

LONDON (Reuters)

RELATED STORIES:
Breast cancer breakthrough as scientists discover faulty gene linked to half of all cases   Using PET/CT in the Detection of Breast Cancer Metastases   Paclitaxel improves early breast cancer survival   Long-term tamoxifen use increases risk of an aggressive, hard to treat type of second breast cancer   Breast MRI spots other cancers, may alter treatment plan   Not all breast cancers’ risk are increased by Hormone Replacement Therapy   Hormone Use Linked to Increased Breast Cancer Risk Among Black Women   Gene helps protect tumor suppressor in breast cancer   Nine Questions to Help Protect Your Heart Before Surgery   Computer-Aided Detection Improves Early Breast Cancer Detection   Validation of a tool for identifying women at high risk for hereditary breast cancer   Noninvasive combination technique may reduce number of breast biopsies   Exercise, green tea may lessen breast cancer blues   Implications for Fine-Tuned Breast Cancer Prognosis Unveiled   Predictors of inaccurate online breast cancer information   Grant Will Test The Effect of Tibetan Yoga on Women with Breast Cancer   Osteo Drug Stops Bone Loss From Breast Cancer Chemo   Adjuvant hormonal therapy reduces contralateral breast cancer risk   Breast cancer drug extends lives: study   Landmine detection technology adapted to screen for breast cancer   Bitter melon extract attacks breast cancer cells   Racial disparities seen in male breast cancer survival

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]