Major Breakthrough for the Breast Cancer Community: Gene that Propagates Metastasis Discovered

By Vera Viner

One of the scariest things that a cancer patient may hear from their doctor is: “Your cancer has metastasized.” Fighting for your life is hard enough, but knowing that cancer cells have infected other parts of your body … that is more than enough to break anyone’s spirit. However, the devotion of scientists and medical professionals to saving lives may have brought us a breakthrough that could put a stop to breast cancer metastasis altogether.

Science Daily reported that researchers from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey discovered a gene that, if limited, could reduce breast cancer metastasis and the risk of death. Their findings were published in the journal Cancer Research. Such research could lead the medical field to develop specific treatments for patients in order to cut the risk of metastasis.

“Our research has shown that HGMA2 [the gene that enables metastasis] plays a part in regulating the spread of cancer and could be considered a driver of the process,” Dr. Kiran Chada, principal investigator of the study and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Rutgers, told the news source. “Further studies could result in the development of therapeutic treatments for patients with breast cancer which could prevent HGMA2′s function, reduce the spread of cancer and extend a patient’s life.”

According to the study, only a few cancer cells are able to metastasize and these are located at the edges of the tumor in a place called the “invasive front.” In the laboratory, normal, healthy cells did not express the HGMA2 gene. When these cells were converted to express the gene, they became metastatic.

Interestingly enough, mice studied in the lab that were unable to express the HGMA2 gene had a significantly lower incidence of breast cancer. Additionally, most of the breast cancer cells that express HGMA2 in human tissue were located at the invasive front.

This research is revolutionary for the breast cancer community. If the medical sector could create a treatment that limits or silences the actions of the HGMA2 gene, women around the world may have a much lower likelihood of breast cancer metastasis. This breakthrough could lead us to saving the lives of mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends.