Scientists Identify Protein’s Crucial Role in Resistance to Breast Cancer Treatment
04 February 2008 - Scientists at the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute have identified how some breast cancers may become resistant to hormone treatments like tamoxifen. The study shows for the first time that a protein called CDK10 is able to control the development of tamoxifen resistance in hormone sensitive breast cancer and has potentially important implications in the treatment of women with this form of the disease.
It is estimated that around 75% of breast tumours are hormone sensitive and use the female hormone oestrogen to grow. Tamoxifen and other anti-oestrogen drugs are a key treatment for women with this type of breast cancer because it reduces the ability of breast cancer cells to use oestrogen to grow. However, over time some tumours become resistant to tamoxifen.
Professor Alan Ashworth, Director of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, says; "Some hormone sensitive breast cancers will eventually become resistant to tamoxifen and this is the major reason why cancer may return. Research to understand why this happens is vital if we are to develop ways to overcome it for the benefit of patients."
Importantly, the researchers also found that patients with low levels of CDK10 in their tumours were less likely to benefit from tamoxifen treatment. Their cancers were more likely to return, and they tended not to survive for as long as women whose tumours produced higher levels of the CDK10. They also uncovered important information on how this might occur - showing that a process called methylation may to be critical to 'switching off' CDK10 levels inside breast cancer cells.
Professor Ashworth concluded; "Through this work, we've identified some of the factors that control this effect and in the future we may be able to use this information to decide which treatments to give to patients to avoid resistance."
Professor Alan Ashworth leads the Gene Function Team in the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at The Institute.
