Mammary Cell News Volume 3.07 | Feb 24 2011

Pathway Transforms Normal Cells into Aggressive Tumors
A biological pathway that transforms normal cells into aggressive tumors has been discovered by researchers at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in Molecular Cell]

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Scientists Discover First Breast Cancer ‘Oncogene’ for Five Years
Cancer Research UK scientists have pinpointed a key cancer-causing gene that, when overactive, triggers a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer to develop. [Press release from Cancer Research UK discussing online prepublication in EMBO Molecular Medicine]

Protein Fuels Inflammation in Pancreatic and Breast Tumors
Separate studies published online identify a protein that drives tumor-promoting inflammation in pancreatic and breast tumors. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Experimental Medicine]

Mammograms Catch Second Breast Cancers Early
The results of a cohort study of women with a personal history of breast cancer highlights the need for mammograms in women with a history of the cancer. [Press release from The University of Sydney discussing online prepublication in the Journal of American Medical Association]

Older Women have Worse Breast Cancer Survival than their Younger Peers
Women over 70 years of age have worse breast cancer relative survival – which compares survival rates among breast cancer patients with expected rates for the whole population – than women younger than age 70 years, researchers report. [Press release from MedWire News discussing online prepublication in the British Journal of Cancer]

Higher Vitamin D Intake Needed To Reduce Cancer Risk
Researchers have reported that markedly higher intake of vitamin D is needed to reach blood levels that can prevent or markedly cut the incidence of breast cancer and several other major diseases than had been originally thought. [Press release from the University of California, San Diego discussing online prepublication in Anticancer Research]

LABORATORY RESEARCH

p53 Regulates Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Stem Cell Properties Through Modulating miRNAs
Using genomic approaches, scientists show that tumor suppressor p53 has a role in regulating both epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and EMT-associated stem cell properties through transcriptional activation of the microRNA miR-200c. [Nat Cell Biol]

Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin Fosters Human Breast Tumor Growth by Promoting Type 2 Inflammation
Breast cancer cell–derived thymic stromal lymphopoietin contributes to the inflammatory T helper type 2 microenvironment conducive to breast tumor development by inducing OX40L expression on dendritic cells. [J Exp Med]

Identification of an mRNP Complex Regulating Tumorigenesis at the Translational Elongation Step
Translational regulation by transforming growth factor-beta at the elongation stage represents a critical checkpoint coordinating the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition transcripts required during development and in tumorigenesis and metastatic progression. [Mol Cell]

Breast Tumor Progression Induced by Loss of BTG2 Expression Is Inhibited by Targeted Therapy with the ErbB/Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitor Lapatinib
To analyze the role of B-cell translocation gene-2 (BTG2) in breast cancer progression, BTG2 expression was knocked down in mammary epithelial cells. [Oncogene]

Anti-Proliferative and Pro-Apoptotic Actions of a Novel Human and Mouse Ovarian Tumor-Associated Gene OTAG-12: Downregulation, Alternative Splicing and Drug Sensitization
In studying the age dependence and chronology of ovarian tumors in follicle stimulating hormone receptor knockout mice, scientists identified a novel ovarian tumor associated gene-12 (OTAG-12), which is progressively downregulated and maps to Chr. 8B3.3. [Oncogene]

Markers of Fibrosis and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition Demonstrate Field Cancerization in Histologically Normal Tissue Adjacent to Breast Tumors
Investigators demonstrate by microarray, qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry a signature of differential gene expression that discriminates between patient-matched, tumor-adjacent histologically normal breast tissues located 1 cm and 5 cm from the margins of breast adenocarcinomas (TAHN-1 and TAHN-5, respectively). [Int J Cancer]

A Microarray Based Expression Profiling of Paclitaxel and Vincristine Resistant MCF-7 Cells
In this study, the molecular mechanisms of resistance to two anticancer agents (paclitaxel and vincristine) in mammary carcinoma cell line MCF-7 were investigated. [Eur J Pharmacol]

ZNF703 Is a Common Luminal B Breast Cancer Oncogene that Differentially Regulates Luminal and Basal Progenitors in Human Mammary Epithelium
Array-CGH and expression analyses of 1172 primary breast tumors revealed that ZNF703 was the single gene within the minimal amplicon and was amplified predominantly in the Luminal B subtype. [EMBO Mol Med]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Accuracy and Outcomes of Screening Mammography in Women With a Personal History of Early-Stage Breast Cancer
The objective of this study is to examine the accuracy and outcomes of mammography screening in women with a personal history of breast cancer (PHBC) relative to screening of similar women without PHBC. [JAMA]

Sex Hormone Levels and Risks of Estrogen Receptor–Negative and Estrogen Receptor–Positive Breast Cancers
In a case–cohort study within the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study among postmenopausal women aged 50–79 years, researchers examined associations between endogenous testosterone and estradiol levels and the risks of estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and ER-positive breast cancers. [J Natl Cancer Inst]

Patient and Tumor Characteristics, Management, and Age-Specific Survival in Women with Breast Cancer in the East of England
Breast cancer relative survival (BCRS), which compares the observed survival of women with breast cancer with the expected survival of women for the whole population of the same age, time period, and geographical region, tends to be poorer in older women, but the reasons for this are not clear. Scientists examined the influence of patient and tumor characteristics, and treatment on BCRS to see whether these could explain the age-specific effect. [Br J Cancer]

Vitamin D Supplement Doses and Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D in the Range Associated with Cancer Prevention
Studies indicate that intake of vitamin D in the range from 1,100 to 4,000 IU/d and a serum 25- hydroxyvitamin D concentration [25(OH)D] from 60-80 ng/ml may be needed to reduce cancer risk. Scientists conducted a descriptive study of serum 25(OH)D concentration and self-reported vitamin D intake in a community-based cohort (n=3,667, mean age 51.3±13.4 y). [Anticancer Res]

New Breast Cancer Service Best for Patients
A new service at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester further boosts its world-wide reputation as a centre of excellence for breast surgery whilst greatly benefitting patients with breast cancer. [Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare National Health Service Trust Press Release]

Novel Methods for Improved Breast Cancer Survival
A quarter of all women who suffer from breast cancer are at risk of metastasis – a recurrence of the cancer. In recent years, researchers at Lund University, Sweden, have developed a technique that can identify in advance which patients belong to this risk group. [Lund University Press Release]

AZCC Researcher Receives $3 Million to Study Effects of Dietary Supplement and Breast Cancer Risk
Arizona Cancer Center (AZCC) researcher Cynthia Thomson, PhD, RD, has received a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study whether a compound found in broccoli can enhance the health-promoting effects of the breast cancer drug tamoxifen in women at risk of developing breast cancer or those previously treated for early-stage breast cancer. [The Arizona Cancer Center Press Release]

NEW Gordon Research Conferences: Mammary Gland Biology
June 12-17, 2011
Newport, United States

NEW Gordon Research Conferences: Developmental Biology
June 19-24, 2011
Andover, United States

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