Breast cancer could be 'stopped in its tracks' by new technique, say scientists
Certain breast cancers spread to the bones using an enzyme
that drills “seed holes” for planting new tumours, research has shown. The discovery could lead to treatments aimed at preventing
secondary breast cancers in patients with non-hormone sensitive disease. The enzyme lysyl oxidase (Lox) is released from the primary
tumour in the breast. Scientists found that it produces holes in bone that
provide fertile ground for the growth of spreading, or metastatic, cancer
cells.
But the process could be blocked, at least in mice, with
bisphosphonate drugs that prevent bone loss and are used to treat osteoporosis. The drugs are already prescribed to men with advanced
prostate cancer that has spread to the bones, to prevent pain and fractures. Dr Alison Gartland, from the University of Sheffield, who
led the research, said: “This is important progress in the fight against breast
cancer metastasis and these findings could lead to new treatments to stop
secondary breast tumours growing in the bone, increasing the chances of
survival for thousands of patients.
“We are really excited about our results that show breast
cancer tumours send out signals to destroy the bone before cancer cells get
there in order to prepare the bone for the cancer cells’ arrival. “The next step is to find out exactly how the tumour
secreted Lox interacts with bone cells to be able to develop new drugs to stop
the formation of the bone lesions and cancer metastasis. This could also have
implications for how we treat other bone diseases too.”
Most breast cancers are hormone sensitive, meaning they are
fuelled by the female hormone oestrogen. But it was non-oestrogen sensitive
(oestrogen receptor negative, or ER negative) breast cancers that used the Lox
mechanism to spread to the bones, the scientists found. Why this should be the
case remains unanswered, but Lox production was linked to low-oxygen conditions
in the primary tumour... read more:
