Gene work raises breast cancer hope | Cancer Kick

The genetic code of the most common type of hereditary breast cancer has been
mapped for the first time, raising hopes for better diagnosis and treatment
for the killer disease, scientists said.

Researchers say they have ?fully sequenced? the DNA of two breast cancers
caused by a faulty BRCA1 gene, which is responsible for aggressive and
highly drug-resistant tumours.

The team from the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the Institute
of Cancer Research (ICR) say they hope that their work will lead to more
tailored treatment for patients.

Dr Rachael Natrajan, one of the scientists involved in the study, said: ?It is
exciting to find new genes which could be involved in causing and driving
breast cancer. Now these have been identified we have to do more work to
find out the role that they play.

?Ultimately, this knowledge could help us develop new treatments that target
the specific defects of each patient?s disease.?

Breast cancers genetically passed down through families account for up to 10%
of all cases, affecting around 4,500 people in the UK each year.

The scientists said cases caused by the BRCA1 gene are ?usually aggressive?
and ?do not benefit? from targeted drugs such as tamoxifen and herceptin.

The research, published today in the Journal of Pathology, found that despite
both tumours being caused by the same source they mutated in almost
completely different ways.

Professor Jorge Reis-Filho, who co-authored the study, said: ?This research
has big implications for how we treat hereditary breast cancer in the future.

?We often consider patients with a faulty BRCA gene as one group but our work
shows that each tumour can look very different from each other genetically.
Now we understand this, we can start to identify the best treatment
strategies to save more lives of hereditary breast cancer patients.?

Using the information gathered they then scanned the genetic code of several
other breast cancers and discovered three genes, not previously linked to
the disease, which they believe are worth investigating further.

The study also included teams from the Institut Curie in France, the
University Medical Centre Utrecht in the Netherlands, The Cancer Research UK
London Research Institute in London and the University of Nottingham.

Last week the ICR, writing in the British Journal of Cancer, said all women
under 50 who are diagnosed with triple-negative (TN) breast cancer should be
screened for the BRCA1 gene fault, which also carries with it an additional
high risk of developing ovarian cancer.

It said the screening could identify hundreds of extra women every year who
may benefit from tailored therapy.

Article source: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/health/gene-work-raises-breast-cancer-hope-16122081.html

Source: http://cancerkick.com/2012/02/24/gene-work-raises-breast-cancer-hope-2/

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