Possible Drug Target Found For One Of The Most Aggressive Breast Cancers

Possible drug target found for one of the most aggressive breast cancers

Few treatment options currently exist for patients:
Investigators from the Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) in the United States have identified a gene (Met gene) which could be an important therapeutic target in treating the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. Currently patients with these cancers have few treatment options.

The work of Dr. Carrie Graveel, Ph.D., was published in early July 2009 in the annals of the Academy of Sciences USA (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). According to the author, the death rate due to breast cancer actually decreased, but the cancers that do not respond to conventional treatments tend to be more aggressive and lower survival rates.

According to Dr. George Vande Woude, Ph.D., chief of the laboratory where the research was conducted, the Met gene has been associated with decreased survival in breast cancer. This study identifies its importance in specific types that can be distinguished at the molecular level.

The Met gene was found in the majority of breast cancer but as a research technician, Mr Jack DeGroot, these rates are higher in aggressive types thus making this gene Met a promising therapeutic target that may help patients who currently few treatment options.