By: Rose Brennan
From: couriermail.com.au
SYDNEY scientists can now stop the spread of aggressive breast cancer, potentially saving thousands of lives every year.
Garvan Institute of Medical Research experts have identified the protein MCL-1 as being responsible for spreading cancer outside the breast — and can turn it off.
Blocking the protein to stop the disease spreading also “turbo-charges” existing drug treatments targeting advanced cancer, the scientists found.
It opens the door to powerful new treatments for advanced breast cancer which, once it has spread, does not respond well to current treatment options and is usually fatal.
“Every year in Australia approximately 3000 women and men will die of breast cancer,” Garvan cancer division leader Dr Samantha Oakes said.
“With this research we can basically stop triple-negative breast cancer in its track.”
The findings have implications beyond breast cancer.
“I believe we’ve discovered a new dual therapeutic approach that won’t just help triple-negative breast cancer patients but many other types of cancer that have come from other organs,” Dr Oakes said.
The landmark study was conducted in mice with tissue replicating human breast cancer cells.
Dr Oakes is confident the results will be just as promising in humans.
“MCL-1 is well known as a ‘survival factor’ that can flick the switch between life and death in cancer cells,” Dr Oakes said.
“Until now no one has ever shown that it helps cancers to spread.
“It controls the life and death switch inside cancer cells and in cancer cells that switch is broken so we’ve learnt a way to flick the switch by turning off MCL-1.”
Dr Oakes said the drug discovery could be used as the first treatment for breast cancer patients to reduce tumour size and stop cancer cells spreading through the body before a patient undergoes surgery.
Sydney mum Barbe Dolan, 53, has survived two bouts of breast cancer which included aggressive triple-negative cancer.
“This new research means that the cancer would be contained and it’s so exciting because triple-negatives are one of the toughest breast cancers around,” she said.
“Because it was aggressive my cancer grew really quickly.”
Ms Dolan said the breakthrough gave her hope that future generations of women, like daughter Kelsey, 18, would have better treatments available to them if needed.
“It is always a worry for your kids that it could happen to them,” she said.
Barbara Jacoby is an award winning blogger that has contributed her writings to multiple online publications that have touched readers worldwide.