Breast Cancer – Scientist find four genetically distinct classes of breast cancer

Breast Cancer – Scientist find four genetically distinct classes of breast cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers with greater than 1,300,000 cases and 450,000 deaths each year worldwide.

The new research is part of The Cancer Genome Atlas project.
Project is funded by federal government.

The findings are published online Sept. 23 in Nature

Scientists have completed a major analysis of the genetics of breast cancer and found four major classes of the disease.

The researchers analyzed DNA of breast cancer tumors from 825 patients, looking for abnormalities. Altogether, they reported, breast cancers appear to fall into four main classes

new study has confirmed the existence of four main subtypes of breast cancer:
1)  
Luminal A

2)  
luminal B

3)  
HER2
4)  
basal-like

Basal-like tumors account for about 10 percent of all breast cancers and disproportionately affect younger women and those who are African-American.

The findings also suggest that most basal-like breast tumors and ovarian tumors have similar genetic origins and potentially could be treated with the same drugs.

"With this study, we're one giant step closer to understanding the genetic origins of the four major subtypes of breast cancer," said the study's co-leader Matthew J. Ellis, MD, PhD, the Anheuser-Busch Chair in Medical Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

"Now, we can investigate which drugs work best for patients based on the genetic profiles of their tumors. For basal-like breast tumors, it is clear they are genetically more similar to ovarian tumors than to other breast cancers. Whether they can be treated the same way is an intriguing possibility that needs to be explored," he added.

These four types of classes will help to give and design more accurate treatment to each breast cancer patient.

Suggested Reading

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11412.html

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Monday, September 24, 2012

Tags – Breast Cancer