The last we heard from the breast cancer front involved a technique of starving cancer cells as a procedure for treatment. Now, researchers at the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht have seemingly identified the frail spot in a particular breast cancer known as invasive lobular carcinoma.
This cancer can apparently transform into a massive tumor that may not react to chemotherapy. The scientists have presumably located the proteins in cancer cells that cause this transformation. In the aforesaid type of cancer, the cells kickstart a mechanism that possibly allows them endure the metastatic process. The researchers are presently looking for ways by which this system can be discarded in mice. It can supposedly be considered a target for future drugs and therapies too.
“It would be ideal if within a couple of years we are able to cure this type of cancer in mice. If we can do that, then the next step will be to conduct research in humans. But even if all the trials are successful, it will still be years before an effective drug becomes available,†commented Patrick Derksen, researcher.
Derksen undertook this research on human cells as well as mice with this form of cancer. This method is deemed to bring professionals one step closer to the tailored cancer treatment. This implies that drugs which strike only at tumorous cells may be coming soon. It is an apparent advantage as normal chemotherapy harms ambient cells too. Invasive lobular carcinoma causes nearly 10 to 15 percent of the 12,000 instances of breast cancer that take place every year. Experts believe that this type of cancer shows better responsiveness to treatment, but may also go on to become aggressive in some cases.
The research will be published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.