BREAKING NEWS ON LOBULAR BC

LindaLou53

My husband emailed these links to me today and I just now got home to see them.  I haven't read all of them in detail yet but it certainly sounds like promising news!  Tomorrows  science journal "NATURE"  will publish the study results.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/major-breast-cancer-breakthrough-announced-at-bc-cancer-agency-63694862.html

http://news.bnonews.com/n3it 

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/10/07/breast-cancer-tumour-evolution-bc.html

http://www.genomeweb.com/sequencing/breast-cancer-sequencing-study-finds-many-metastatic-mutations-are-undetectable-

Major breast cancer breakthrough announced at BC Cancer Agency

BC scientists first in world to decode genetic evolution of a breast
cancer tumour

VANCOUVER, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ - For the first time in history, BC Cancer Agency scientists in British Columbia, Canada have decoded all of the three billion letters in the DNA sequence of a metastatic lobular breast cancer tumour, a type of breast cancer which accounts for about 10 per cent of all breast cancers, and have found all of the mutations, or "spelling" mistakes that caused the cancer to spread.

The landmark study, which will be published October 8th as the cover story in the prestigious international science journal Nature, helps unlock the secrets of how cancer begins and spreads, thus pointing the way to the development of new breast cancer treatment targets and therapies.

"One in nine women is expected to develop breast cancer, and breast cancer accounts for 29 per cent of all cancer diagnoses for B.C. women," said Health Services Minister Kevin Falcon. "As a result of the efforts of the scientists behind the study, this breakthrough finding gives further hope to the thousands of women with this terrible disease."

"I never thought I would see this in my lifetime," said Dr. Samuel Aparicio, head of the breast cancer research program at the BC Cancer Agency, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). "This is a watershed event in our ability to understand the causes of breast cancer and to develop personalized medicines for our patients. The number of doors that can now be opened to future research is considerable."

Partnering with the BC Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences Centre, Dr. Aparicio's team used the latest in next-generation DNA sequencing technology to study the evolution of a single patient's lobular breast cancer tumour over a nine-year interval. They found 32 mutations in the metastatic cancer tumour and then looked to see how many of those same spelling mistakes were present in the original tumour. The result was surprising - only five of the 32 could have been present in all of the cells of the primary tumour, thus fingering them as the criminals that caused the disease to get started in the first place. These five mutations were previously unknown to researchers as playing a role in cancer.

"This study demonstrates the remarkable capacity of next-generation DNA sequencing technology," says Dr. Marco Marra, Director, BC Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences Centre. "The project that decoded the first human genome in 2001 took years and an enormous amount of funding. We were able to sequence the breast cancer genome in weeks and at a fraction of the cost."

"Through our research at the BC Cancer Agency, we are dedicated to finding new and novel ways to detect cancer earlier and to develop more enhanced treatments," said Brian Schmidt, Interim President, BC Cancer Agency and Senior Vice President, Provincial Services, Population and Public Health, PHSA. "This discovery is a wonderful example of how investment in research is helping to pave the way toward better outcomes for cancer patients in the future."

The discovery is not only a major scientific milestone for the BC Cancer Agency, an acknowledged world leader in cancer research care, but also a significant testimony to the power of philanthropy invested in science to fuel cancer research and drive new discoveries.

"The BC Cancer Foundation, as the fundraising arm of the agency, has raised over $15 million to support breast cancer research at the BC Cancer Agency across the province, including Dr. Aparicio's program, through its Weekend to End Breast Cancer walk," said BC Cancer Foundation President and CEO Douglas Nelson. "We are very grateful to the many thousands of British Columbians who have walked, donated and supported The Weekend to End Breast Cancer over the past six years. To everyone who has walked or contributed we can confidently say your efforts have made a difference - you are a partner in this remarkable achievement."

The BC Cancer Foundation founded the BC Cancer Agency's Genome Sciences Centre, the Centre for Translational and Applied Genomics at the BC Cancer Agency, and the BC Cancer Agency's Breast Cancer Outcomes Unit, all of which played a key role in the study. The research was conducted in the BC Cancer Agency's research centre in Vancouver, which was constructed by the BC Cancer Foundation, with donor and provincial and federal government funding.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, BC/Yukon Region supported a key member of Dr. Aparicio's research team through a bioinformatics fellowship. Other funders and supporters include the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, Genome Canada and Genome BC, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

Dr. Aparicio was recruited in 2005 from Cambridge University, UK to develop a breast cancer research program in British Columbia at the BC Cancer Agency. He holds the Nan and Lorraine Robertson Chair in Breast Cancer Research at the University of British Columbia (UBC), the Canada Research Chair in Molecular Oncology and is a professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC.

The BC Cancer Agency is committed to reducing the incidence of cancer, reducing the mortality from cancer and improving the quality of life of those living with cancer. It provides a comprehensive cancer control program by working with community partners to deliver a range of oncology services, including prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, research, education, supportive care, rehabilitation and palliative care. The BC Cancer Foundation raises funds to support research and enhancements to patient care at the BC Cancer Agency throughout B.C.

crazy4carrots

Linda, thanks for posting this.  I saw the report of it on our TV news here (in Canada) but it wasn't noted that the cells were from a lobular cancer patient.  It's exciting news!

Cheers, (another) Linda

dlb823

Thanks for sharing that, Linda!   Oh, I hope they are onto something meaningful here -- something they can quickly develop into actual treatments for us.    Deanna

Gitane

I read them all.  Thanks, LindaLou for taking the time to post this for us. They studied lobular cancer, nice to read that.   G.

hlya

Thank you very much!  It's very encouraging..... I will share with my BC friends who don't come here or don't watch TV/read newspapers

Gene decoding is definitely a significant improvement! 

nash

Thanks, Linda!

anniebford

Thanks for posting the links, Linda. Annie

Anonymous

Thanks Linda!

I just love our neighbors up north! lol

YoYo44

Thanks for posting that Linda! 

I saw the story but did not see that it was lobular.  Great to see some strong research and genetics study.  Maybe the sneaky cancer's days will be numbered before the end of our lifetime.  Imagine if they could find a diagnostic to detect it before it becomes a huge tumour and have a treatment that actually targets it effectively and efficiently. 

Have a great weekend ladies!

GrammyNancy

Thank you so much for posting this!!!!!

AnneW

Linda,

Wow! That's amazing. If they can figure this out in a matter of weeks, the possibilities are endless! I now know where my next donation for cancer research will go--The BC Cancer Foundation. I want to support an entity whos money actually goes into research and is getting things done.

Anne

paige-allyson

Thank you Linda!

Cal-Gal

Great News--Thank you Linda

IllinoisNancy

Hi Ladies,

I don't think our cancer is so rare anymore.  When I went to my radiologist the last time she said that her ILC cases have been doubling for the last 3 years.

Kleenex

Nancy - That's kind of horrifying - her ILC cases doubling for the last three years. Good to have more information about it and someone focusing on it, but NOT good that there's more of it...

crazy4carrots

You know, if the rate of ILC seems to be increasing, then that might be the necessary red flag for researchers to start studying it more closely, to find out why -- and that might lead to finding out the cause -- and that would be a very good thing indeed.

lrsreyes

My experience with GP & radiologists indicated they do not really know Lobular cancer. My onco's very basic description that it manifests itself on/close to the nipple should have raised concern with my GP when I showed him the 3 "age" spots on my areola if he knew. He just sent me for a diagnostic mamo & U/S which were very unreliable or useless since from what I have been reading 70? 80? % of lobular cancers do not show in mammo. A lot of lives would be saved if GPs, radiologists know because they are the point of entry not the oncos who are the end of the line. If the experts can identify the signs of lobular cancer ( abnormalities around the nipple,? postmenopausal ?, HRT use? )  & GPs are educated to identify these signs then it would benefit a lot of women NOW!!!!