Genetic Study Finds 4 Distinct Variations of Breast Cancer

Thank you for linking to this article, it looks very interesting!

What I think is sad is how, for those of us diagnosed years ago, we can't get this information about our tumor because it's long gone! Then again, if we 'turned over' our tumors to a local research facility, does that mean they could still screen for new research info from it? Tammy

Would the hospital still have my slides from 30 years ago?

New Breast Cancer Study May Alter Approach To Treatments.

There was a significant amount of media coverage of a new study on breast cancer published online Sunday in the journal Nature. Much of the reporting focused on how the findings are significantly altering the scientific understanding of breast cancer, and will likely impact the type of treatments that patients receive.

        In a front-page story, the New York Times (9/24, A1, Kolata, Subscription Publication) reports that "researchers have identified four genetically distinct types of the cancer," and "within those types, they found hallmark genetic changes that are driving many cancers." These findings "are expected to lead to new treatments" with medication "already approved for cancers in other parts of the body and new ideas for more precise treatments aimed at genetic aberrations that now have no known treatment." Dr. Matthew Ellis, a researcher for the study, said "this is the road map for how we might cure breast cancer in the future."

        The AP (9/24) reports that "the new finding offers hints that one type of breast cancer might be vulnerable" to medications "that already work against ovarian cancer." According to the AP, the study "is the latest example of research into the biological details of tumors, rather than focusing primarily on where cancer arises in the body." The article adds that "the hope is that such research can reveal cancer's genetic weaknesses for better drug targeting."

        Similarly, NBC Nightly News (9/23, story 7, 1:20, Holt) broadcast, "the research opens the possibility of trying" different medications, "including some already on the market to treat other forms of cancer, and the new genetic information will give" pharmaceutical companies "clues for developing new" treatments. It adds, "Of course, everything will have to be tested in years of clinical trials. But the new information provides a wealth of new leads to treat a disease that still kills 35,000 women a year in this country."

        The San Francisco Chronicle (9/24, Colliver) reports that this "is the fifth study to come out of the Cancer Genome Atlas, a project funded by the National Institutes of Health to examine the key genomic changes in at least 20 different cancer types." According to the article, "the project's researchers have previously published reports on glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain cancer and on a form of ovarian cancer as well as colon cancer and, earlier this month, squamous cell lung cancer."

        USA Today (9/24, Szabo) notes that in this study, scientists "analyzed tissue from 348 breast cancers, finding that most tumors are caused by mutations in 30 to 50 genes."

        HealthDay (9/24, Preidt) adds that the scientists "used six different technologies" to analyze the tumors, looking for "defects in DNA, RNA and proteins." The study team "confirmed the existence of four main subtypes of breast cancer -- luminol A, luminal B, HER2 and basal-like -- and found unique genetic and molecular signatures within each of the subtypes."

--------------------------------------

Researchers and patient advocates caution that it will still take years to translate the new insights into transformative new treatments. Even within the four major types of breast cancer, individual tumors appear to be driven by their own sets of genetic changes. A wide variety of drugs will most likely need to be developed to tailor medicines to individual tumors.