Gene could prevent breast cancer spread

12th May 2008

Breast Cancer Campaign’s Scientific Conference - Breast Cancer Research 2008

Cardiff scientist Dr Richard Clarkson told 300 delegates at the Breast Cancer Campaign conference that the gene Bcl3 may play a role in preventing the fatal spread of breast cancer cells around the body when it was previously thought the gene actually makes tumour cells grow.

Cancer cells undergo a series of changes that lead them to break away from the original tumour and move to other parts of the body. This process is called metastasis. Understanding how metastasis works could lead to the development of new drugs, which could either slow down or prevent the spread of the disease and ultimately save more lives.

Dr Clarkson has discovered that the Bcl3 gene is found in high levels of aggressive breast cancers and indeed promotes tumour growth, but disappears in breast cancer cells that are likely to metastasise or spread.

Dr Clarkson said, “In the UK, the current figures show that each year there are over 44,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed and around 12,500 die from the disease, primarily as a result of (metastatic) spread of the cancer. By understanding more about how breast cancer cells metastasise it will help to identify new treatments for metastatic breast cancer.”

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