Role of Aggressive Breast Cancer Gene Discovered
10 March 2008 - Scientists at The Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute have helped identify a critical role for a gene called Tip60 in breast cancer. Dr Tim Crook and colleagues have shown that the gene is linked to breast cancer development and associated with more aggressive forms of the disease which are more difficult to treat. These findings will have important implications for how some breast cancers are treated in the future.
Dr Crook’s team studied the Tip60 gene in samples of breast tissue. They discovered that the activity of this gene is significantly lower in breast cancer tissue compared with normal breast tissue. Dr Crook, who is both a researcher and practising medical doctor, and a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist, explains; “More aggressive types of breast cancers tend to come back after treatment, spread to other parts of the body and respond less well to chemotherapy. The discovery of the role of Tip60 marks an important step forward in our understanding of the genes involved in breast cancer.”
Dr Tim Crook leads the Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics Team at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre.
