Researchers find new ways to treat breast cancer in hormone receptor positive -
A leading scientist based at Keele University in North Staffordshire was awarded a grant of around £ 20,000 per research charity breast cancer Campaign to find new ways to treat breast cancer in hormone receptor positive, the most common type of the disease.
Up to 80% of breast cancers overproduce estrogen receptor (ER), and many also overproduce the progesterone receptor (PR), which drive tumor growth. drugs "anti-hormones" exist to halt the growth of these cancers by blocking the activity of the hormone receptors, but sometimes the cancer can become resistant to these drugs. New research by Professor Gwyn Williams and Dr. Mark Pickard will aim to find new ways to stop these receptors work of hormones, which could lead to new treatments for this type of breast cancer.
In the West Midlands breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, with around 4,400 new cases diagnosed each year and more than 1,000 women die sadly disease on average each year
Professor Williams said :. "Cancer hormone receptor positive breast can sometimes become resistant to the drugs used to treat it. Grant that I get from the breast cancer campaign will allow me to find new ways to prevent the growth of these breast cancers, which could eventually lead to new ways to treat the disease and ultimately save lives. "
ER or PR are overproduced in cells up to 80% of breast tumors and when activated causes the cancer cells to multiply, stimulate the growth of the tumor. They do this by binding to DNA in places that have specific genetic codes, and the activation of genes that cause the cell to multiply and survive.
Professor Williams and Dr Pickard will create short pieces of DNA in the laboratory that could act as "decoys", imitating the DNA parts that normally bind ER or PR. These can then be used as drugs to block ER or PR binding to the DNA of the cancer cell of the breast, and so prevent stimulate breast cancer growth. Professor Williams and Dr Pickard will test if ER and PR bind to these fragments, and to study the effect they have on breast cancer cells grown in the laboratory.
Katherine Woods, Research Communications Manager at Cancer Campaign, said: "Research Professor Williams in this area is vital and could ultimately lead to new treatments to slow the growth of breast cancers that overproduce ER or PR, the most common form of the disease. "
" it would improve the chances of survival for thousands of patients and bring a little closer to our goal that by 2030, we identified causing various tumors to grow and progress -. This allows us to choose the best treatment for each patient "
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