Study gives gene map of breast cancer

An art installation, that includes up to four hundred umbrellas, is part of a campaign aiming at awareness, prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Laitkep, a single mother to six children, found out she had breast cancer in 2014.

An art installation, that includes up to four hundred umbrellas, is part of a campaign aiming at awareness, prevention and treatment of breast cancer. Laitkep, a single mother to six children, found out she had breast cancer in 2014.

Published May 3, 2016

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London - Breast cancer’s secrets have been cracked by scientists, who say they have a near-perfect picture of the genes that cause the disease.

The landmark research paves the way for new and better treatments – as well as ways of preventing the disease ever occurring. In future, doctors could use “genetic X-rays” to decide on the best drugs for individual patients.

The researchers from the renowned Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge said their study, the biggest of its kind, marked a “very significant moment for cancer research”.

Despite great strides being made in recent years, breast cancer is still one of Britain’s biggest killers, claiming the lives of almost 1 000 women a month. And with almost 54 000 new cases a year, it is the country’s most common cancer.

Breast cancer is caused by the DNA in the cells in a woman’s breast tissue gathering more and more mutations as she gets older. Eventually, the damage is too great for her body to contain, and a tumour forms.

An international team of scientists spent seven years peering deep into the DNA of breast tissue samples from 560 patients. Most came from women but a handful were from men.

By capitalising on advances in technology, they were able to read each of the 3 billion letters that make up each person’s genetic code. This uncovered 93 genes, that if mutated, can cause breast tumours. Some had been discovered before, but with the new additions, this is expected to be a near definitive list.

Sanger director Professor Sir Mike Stratton: “With our ability to sequence the whole genome of very large numbers of cancers, we’re essentially moving to a more or less complete list of these mutated cancer genes, so it’s a very significant moment for cancer research.”

Crucially, each of these genetic errors is a weakness that could be exploited by new drugs.

While some medicines, such as breast cancer “wonder drug” Herceptin, are already matched to a woman’s DNA, doctors want to be able to give every woman customised treatment.

Researcher Dr Serena Nik-Zainal said: “We’d like to be able to profile individual cancer genomes so that we can identify the treatment most likely to be successful for a woman or man diagnosed with breast cancer. This is a step closer to personalised healthcare for cancer.”

Sir Mike added: “This is no longer speculation or hand-waving. This huge study… shows it is possible to sequence individual cancer genomes and this should lead to benefits for patients.”

The research, published in the journal Nature and Nature Communications, could also shed light on what causes the mutations, and so causes cancer.

The scientists identified 20 different patterns of mutation thought to have separate causes. One was left by the BRCA1 gene, which is carried by actress Angelina Jolie, and greatly increases a woman’s odds of breast cancer.

But the origins of many of the other patterns remain a mystery.

Working out what food, drink, habit or other factor triggers the changes could lead to new ways of preventing the disease.

For instance, if a particular chemical is found to be sinister, women could be told to avoid it, in the same way they are advised to quit smoking to cut their odds of lung cancer.

Excitingly, the team was able to turn the vast amount of information into a “genetic X-ray” – an easy-to-read report. This is vital if the vast amount of information generated by genetic analysis is to be of practical benefit to patients.

The research has benefits beyond breast cancer, with the techniques easily adaptable to other types of cancer. However, the researchers cautioned that drugs based on today’s findings could take decades to develop and even then, they may not always work. They told the BBC: “Cancers are devious beasts and they work out ways of developing resistance to new therapeutics”, adding that they were “optimistic but it’s a tempered optimism”.

Dr Emma Smith, of Cancer Research UK, said: “This study brings us closer to getting a complete picture of the genetic changes at the heart of breast cancer.

“Understanding these underlying processes has already led to more effective treatments for patients, so genetic studies on this scale could be an important stepping stone towards developing new drugs and boosting the number of people who survive cancer.”

Vanessa Babbage, who has had surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy for breast cancer, told the BBC: “It gives people hope because when people are affected by someone they love and they have breast cancer, they hope for a better future for other women that are going to be affected.”

Daily Mail

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