Breast Cancer Study May Improve Treatment
By: Charlotte Ames
Updated: September 24, 2012
Researchers hope a new study leads to more effective treatments for breast cancer.
When scientists analyzed the genetics of more than 800 patients, they were able to separate breast cancers into four distinct types. Each reveals unique genetic roadmaps to what drives the cancers.
One of the most significant findings involves the aggressive type of cancer known as triple negative. Researchers discovered tumor cells from triple negative cancers are genetically more similar to ovarian cancers than to other breast cancers. That could mean ovarian treatments are a more effective therapy.
These tumors are more likely to affect younger and African American women. They account for about ten percent of all breast cancers .
This study, published in the online version of the journal Nature, was the broadest investigation so far of the genetics of the disease. The next step is clinical trials.
When scientists analyzed the genetics of more than 800 patients, they were able to separate breast cancers into four distinct types. Each reveals unique genetic roadmaps to what drives the cancers.
One of the most significant findings involves the aggressive type of cancer known as triple negative. Researchers discovered tumor cells from triple negative cancers are genetically more similar to ovarian cancers than to other breast cancers. That could mean ovarian treatments are a more effective therapy.
These tumors are more likely to affect younger and African American women. They account for about ten percent of all breast cancers .
This study, published in the online version of the journal Nature, was the broadest investigation so far of the genetics of the disease. The next step is clinical trials.
