Apr 07 2008
Moving Foward in the Fight Against Breast Cancer
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A big step in the ever ongoing battle against breast cancer was recently announced. How is it that the cancerous cells can spread to attack the lungs? This was something that was never understood, and thus, fighting it proved exceptionally difficult. That’s no longer the case. The cancer sends out a signal or “relay” to the tissue that it plans to target, the lungs. This relay molecularly weakens the targeted tissue thus allowing the breast cancer cells to pass through the capillary walls and penetrate the lung.
Key to this study is a signaling molecule called TGF-beta. Early in cancer progression, TGF-beta acts as a tumor suppressor, inhibiting cancer growth. Later, it actually stimulates cancer progression and metastasis. Massague was interested in how tumors trigger this molecular dichotomy.
His team began by identifying a molecular signature, a pattern of gene expression of 153 genes that identifies tumors that are both expressing and responding to TGF-beta. They then applied that signature to hundreds of primary breast tumors. (source).
This might seem like such a small step forward to some, but this progress has been long sought after and I for one am glad to see that we are gaining ground in this fight at long last. After all, understanding the enemy and finding its weak points are the first steps in defeating it.
