Groundbreaking Study Uncovers Why Breast Cancer Metastasizes to the Brain
A groundbreaking study led by a pair of researchers from Israel and involving research teams in several countries has discovered why some forms of breast cancer metastasize into the brain and become deadly. Their findings could open new doors in the management of breast cancer and address the needs of patients who are at a higher risk of developing metastases in the brain.
The study, whose findings appeared in the Nature Genetics journal, was led by Professor Uri Ben-David and his colleague Professor Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, both working at Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences in Tel Aviv, Israel. Other researchers who were involved in the study were based in the U.S., Germany, Australia, Italy, and Poland.
They analyzed breast cancer tumor cell data, conducted experiments on cancer cells that had been cultured, analyzed 3D models of cancer and conducted functional experiments using mouse models. Their objective was to establish why breast cancer migrates to other body organs like the liver, lungs, brain or bones. Cancers usually become deadly once they metastasize to major organs, and brain metastases are the worst since they are harder to treat due to the blood-brain barrier that blocks many available drugs from reaching the brain to attack the tumors there.
Ben-David, who specializes in studying the chromosomal changes in the body, commented that cancer develops when chromosomes change, and that was their focus in trying to uncover why some breast cancer subtypes result in brain metastases.
The team found that changes to chromosome 17 predispose some breast cancer patients to brain metastases. This chromosome loses its “short arm” and increases the chance of breast cancer spreading/metastasizing to the brain. The team learned that the loss of this short arm is triggered by a change to gene p53 in cells.
This gene is often described as the genome’s guardian because it triggers cell apoptosis once it detects that a given cell has developed an abnormality in its composition or genetic makeup. When p53 is defective, abnormal cells develop and multiply since the mechanism to identify them early and cause them to self-destruct is no longer functional.
This, the researchers say, explains why some patients with breast cancer develop metastases in their brains. The team also learned that fatty acid production is elevated in situations where p53 is impaired, which explains why cancer develops rapidly when it metastasizes to the brain.
They confirmed this finding by testing a number of drugs that block the mechanism through which fatty acid production is regulated, and found some drugs that could disable the ability of breast cancer to spread to the brain. These results open the door to the development of future drugs that could be used to treat individuals who are at a higher risk of developing brain metastases.
For companies like CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) that focus on developing novel treatments indicated for primary and metastatic cancers of the brain, this study could provide valuable insights.
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
A groundbreaking study led by a pair of researchers from Israel and involving research teams in several countries has discovered why some forms of breast cancer metastasize into the brain and become deadly. Their findings could open new doors in the management of breast cancer and address the needs of patients who are at a higher risk of developing metastases in the brain.
The study, whose findings appeared in the Nature Genetics journal, was led by Professor Uri Ben-David and his colleague Professor Ronit Satchi-Fainaro, both working at Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences in Tel Aviv, Israel. Other researchers who were involved in the study were based in the U.S., Germany, Australia, Italy, and Poland.
They analyzed breast cancer tumor cell data, conducted experiments on cancer cells that had been cultured, analyzed 3D models of cancer and conducted functional experiments using mouse models. Their objective was to establish why breast cancer migrates to other body organs like the liver, lungs, brain or bones. Cancers usually become deadly once they metastasize to major organs, and brain metastases are the worst since they are harder to treat due to the blood-brain barrier that blocks many available drugs from reaching the brain to attack the tumors there.
Ben-David, who specializes in studying the chromosomal changes in the body, commented that cancer develops when chromosomes change, and that was their focus in trying to uncover why some breast cancer subtypes result in brain metastases.
The team found that changes to chromosome 17 predispose some breast cancer patients to brain metastases. This chromosome loses its “short arm” and increases the chance of breast cancer spreading/metastasizing to the brain. The team learned that the loss of this short arm is triggered by a change to gene p53 in cells.
This gene is often described as the genome’s guardian because it triggers cell apoptosis once it detects that a given cell has developed an abnormality in its composition or genetic makeup. When p53 is defective, abnormal cells develop and multiply since the mechanism to identify them early and cause them to self-destruct is no longer functional.
This, the researchers say, explains why some patients with breast cancer develop metastases in their brains. The team also learned that fatty acid production is elevated in situations where p53 is impaired, which explains why cancer develops rapidly when it metastasizes to the brain.
They confirmed this finding by testing a number of drugs that block the mechanism through which fatty acid production is regulated, and found some drugs that could disable the ability of breast cancer to spread to the brain. These results open the door to the development of future drugs that could be used to treat individuals who are at a higher risk of developing brain metastases.
For companies like CNS Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSP) that focus on developing novel treatments indicated for primary and metastatic cancers of the brain, this study could provide valuable insights.
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the BioMedWire website applicable to all content provided by BMW, wherever published or re-published: http://BMW.fm/Disclaimer
