Scientists Finally Discover the Achilles Heel of Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer in women which affects millions. While a patient may survive after treatment, the disease can go back after sometime. But just recently, scientists have discovered a new way to ’switch off’ signals in the body that stop breast cancer from striking again.
Researchers from the University of Zurich found a way to prevent breast cancer from reoccurring. They identified a type of protein present in all human cells, called HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), which is present in all human cells. They found that many invasive forms of breast cancer have too much of the receptor HER2 on their surface, which leads to uncontrolled growth of the cancer cells.
High levels of HER2 are found in about one in five breast and stomach cancer and known as HER2 positive cancers.
In the study, researchers intended to find out why these antibodies merely slow tumour growth, rather than destroy them.
HER2 uses several signalling pathways at the same time to inform the cell that it should grow and divide. But currently, antibodies available only block one of those signalling pathways, while others remain active. The researchers believe they have developed a method to switch off all the signals, using a protein compound that binds to HER2 and changes its structure. This ’receptor bending’ prevents any growth signals from being transmitted to the cell’s interior, causing the cancer cell to eventually die.
This offers new hope to treating breast cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, there are about 150 breast cancer cases diagnosed every day. But because of the developments in treatments, the rate of survival is higher these days. Around two-thirds (65%) of women diagnosed with breast cancer in England and Wales survive their disease for twenty years or more in 2010.
Source of this article:
Have we cracked breast cancer? Scientists discover ’Achilles heel’ of the disease and why it can return years later
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