New breast cancer target is found

Iowa City, Iowa -- U.S. scientists have discovered a gene that plays a linchpin role in the ability of breast cancer cells to respond to estrogenowa

University of Iowa researchers said their finding might lead to improved therapies for hormone-responsive breat cancers and might explain differences in the effectiveness of current treatments.

Estrogen causes hormone-responsive breast cancer cells to grow and divide by interacting with estrogen receptors made by cancer cells, the researchers said.

Interfering with estrogen signaling is the basis of two common breast cancer therapies -- tamoxifen, which blocks estrogen's interaction with a primary estrogen receptor called ER-alpha, and aromatase inhibitors that reduce the amount of estrogen the body makes and therefore affect any pathway that uses estrogen.

The study, led by Dr. Ronald Weigel, a professor and head of surgery at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, reveals a central role for transcription factor AP2C in controlling multiple pathways of estrogen signaling.

The study is reported in the journal Cancer Research.

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Copyright 2007 by United Press International.