Experts find new targets to stop breast cancer

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http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/T264163.htm

ONE of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer may originate in the cells lining the mammary ducts, which can be targeted in the fight against the disease, experts say.

Basal breast cancers account for 20 per cent of all breast cancers and are among the most aggressive. They occur in women carrying mutations of the tumour-suppressing gene BRCA1 and have long been thought to originate in breast stem cells.

However, a research team led by Jane Visvader and Geoff Lindeman from The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia has found that the real culprits may instead be pre-cancerous cells lining the mammary ducts.

The finding opens the way for developing new drugs or therapies to treat this form of breast cancer, Mr Lindeman said.

"BRCA1 women have approximately a 65 per cent lifetime chance of developing breast cancer. Following surgery, treatment options available to these women are often limited to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, so identifying new treatment and prevention strategies is a priority for us," he said.