Scientists find 'master' breast cancer gene, which causes the cancer to metastasize:
Described by the US researchers as a “master regulator,” the SATB1 gene alters the behavior of at least 1,000 other genes within tumor cells, said the study, published in the British journal Nature.When over-activated it makes cancer cells proliferate, and when neutralised the gene stops the cells from dividing and migrating, the study reported.
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Between 125 and 160 metastatic nodules formed in each lung of all the control mice. But in the rodents in which SATB1 was suppressed, the number was between zero and five.Deliberately over-expressing the gene had the opposite effect, causing the cancer cells to rapidly reproduce and run amok.
Translating the study’s findings into an effective treatment for cancer would require targeting only the tumours in which the SATB1 gene has become overly active.
A drug that blocked the gene throughout the body would compromise its critical — and normal — role in activating the immune system.
Kohwi-Shigematsu is working on a means for delivering an inhibitor via microscopic nanocapsules, and said trials on humans could start within a couple of years. Prognostic tools could be available within a year.