Hope for breast treatment booster

Wednesday February 24th, 2010

Doctors may soon be testing drugs to help women with breast cancer who become resistant to the treatment tamoxifen, researchers announced today.

New research has identified why some breast cancer patients become resistant to tamoxifen - pinning down genetic clues.

Tamoxifen is prescribed to patients for five years following diagnosis to help prevent relapse, but some patients develop resistance to the drug and are no longer protected.

Dr Nick Turner and colleagues at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK, found that a gene called FGFR1 causes resistance to tamoxifen and other hormone treatments when it is overactive. This is because it causes the breast cancer cells to stop relying on hormones for their growth.

FGFR1 is overactive in about ten per cent of breast cancers. The team believes that this new discovery may help develop personalised treatments for patients. They were able to switch off FGFR1 in cancer cells in the laboratory, and predict that drugs with a similar action in humans will be effective.

The study was published in Cancer Research yesterday (February 23). Dr Turner said: "Understanding how this gene can cause tamoxifen resistance reveals a new drug target for treating breast cancers in patients who would otherwise have a poor outcome.

"There are a number of drugs in development that stop FGFR1 working, and clinical studies are investigating whether these drugs work against cancers with too many copies of this gene.

"The next step is to set up a clinical trial to see whether a drug that blocks the action of this gene can counteract hormone therapy resistance in breast cancer patients. If these trials confirm our lab work we could be on the verge of a potentially exciting new treatment for breast cancer."

Turner, N. et al. FGFR1 amplification drives endocrine therapy resistance and is a therapeutic target in breast cancer. Cancer Research, February 23, 2010.

Tags: Cancer | Genetics | Pharmaceuticals | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology

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