Cutting-Edge Breast Cancer Therapy

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Thursday, 27 December 2007

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Cutting-Edge Breast Cancer Therapy
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Cell Signaling

Cells are constantly sending and receiving messages to and from other cells. Some signals stimulate the cell to grow and reproduce; others direct it to stop growing. The signaling process involves proteins on the surface of cells as well as genes within the cells. When the signaling process goes awry, cell growth can spin out of control, leading to tumors -- a process called deregulation.

Scientists are working to identify -- and stop -- the genes that cause deregulation in breast tissue. Though they've "already generated a long list of candidate targets," it's particularly challenging to intervene in the cell-signaling process, says Gray. "If a protein is on the surface of a cell, it's easy to get therapeutics to it. But if we're targeting [something within the cell, such as a gene], it's much harder to attack that." His team is looking at how the faulty genes affect cell function, in hopes of finding "a target either upstream or downstream of the signaling process to attack with therapeutics."

And these are just a few of the many new approaches being investigated right now. According to Winer, "Breast cancer treatment is already more than 'one size fits all.' We don't treat all patients with the same therapies." Now, that individualized approach needs to be taken to the next level, especially among women with early-stage disease. With continued research, he says, "we'll understand how each treatment works, and be much more selective picking and combining them for different patients."

View Article Sources

SOURCES: Eric Winer, MD, head of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Breast Oncology Program in Boston. Joe Gray, PhD, professor of laboratory medicine, the University of California San Francisco. The American Cancer Society web site. National Institutes of Health Medline web site. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services web site. National Cancer Institute web site. Burstein, H. Medscape web site. “Targeted Therapies in Breast Cancer: the Champagne Has Lost Its Fizz.” Jones, S. Medscape web site. “What’s New in the Hormonal Treatment of Breast Cancer?” Miller, K. Medscape web site. “Clinical Status of Antiangiogenic Therapy -- Is There Still Reason to Hope?” Perez, E. Medscape web site. “Defining Regimens with Targeted and Novel Therapies for Breast Cancer.” Pritchard, A. Medscape General Medicine, June 18, 2003; vol. 5. Pritchard, K. Medscape web site. “New Prognostic and Predictive Factors: Are They Ready for Clinical Use?” Pritchard, K. “Aromatase Inhibitors: the State of the Art.” Robert, N. Medscape web site. "Update on Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy." WebMD Medical News: "Millions Could Benefit from Tamoxifen." WebMD Medical News: "Condensed Chemo Improves Cancer Outcome." WebMD Medical News: "Tamoxifen Prevents Breast Cancer in Some."