Mammary Cell News Volume 3.17 | May 5 2011

‘Like Finding Gold in Trafalgar Square’: Gene Breakthrough
Scientists have hailed their discovery of three genes linked to the most common form of breast cancer as ‘like finding gold in Trafalgar Square’. [Press release from The Institute of Cancer Research discussing online prepublication in PLoS Genetics]

Researchers Discover Protein That Could Help Prevent the Spread of Cancer
A protein capable of halting the spread of breast cancer cells could lead to a therapy for preventing or limiting the spread of the disease. [Press release from Queen’s University discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Cell Science]

Breast Cancers Found Between Mammograms More Likely to Be Aggressive
Breast cancers that are first detectable in the interval between screening mammograms are more likely to be aggressive, fast-growing tumors according to a study. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute]

Aggressive Breast Tumors Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency
Low vitamin D levels among women with breast cancer correlate with more aggressive tumors and poorer prognosis, according to a new study. [Press release from the University of Rochester Medical Center discussing research presented at the 2011 American Society of Breast Surgeons Meeting]

Interval Post-Treatment Mammogram Not Needed for Breast Cancer Patients
An annual mammogram is sufficient follow-up after breast conserving therapy for breast cancer patients, according to a study. [Press release from EurekAlert! discussing research presented at the Cancer Imaging and Radiation Therapy Symposium]

New Studies Show Negative Effects from Revised Mammography Recommendation for Women, Ages 40-49
Two new studies reveal that the United States Preventative Services Task Force’s recommendation to no longer screen women ages 40-49 for breast cancer using mammograms has begun to negatively affect the number of yearly mammograms performed in this age group and thus decrease the benefits of early detection. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing research presented at the 2011 American Roentgen Ray Society Meeting]

LABORATORY RESEARCH

Keratin 6a Marks Mammary Bipotential Progenitor Cells That Can Give Rise to a Unique Tumor Model Resembling Human Normal-Like Breast Cancer
By generating transgenic mice using the keratin 6a (K6a) gene promoter to express tumor virus A, scientists provide direct evidence that K6a⁺ cells are bipotential progenitor cells, and the first demonstration of a non-basal location for some biopotential progenitor cells. [Oncogene]

CEACAM1 Creates a Pro-Angiogenic Tumor Microenvironment that Supports Tumor Vessel Maturation
Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) expression in the tumor periphery determines the vascular phenotype in a tumor, whereas systemic absence of CEACAM1 interferes with the formation of an organized tumor matrix and intratumoral vessel maturation. [Oncogene]

Frizzled Homolog 7 Has a Critical Role in Cell Proliferation in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Investigators used microarray analysis to perform a pathway analysis of triple negative breast cancer compared with non-triple negative breast cancer. [Oncogene]

Differential Regulation of PTEN Expression by Androgen Receptor in Prostate and Breast Cancers
Scientists performed in silico analysis of publicly available microarray data sets from prostate or breast carcinomas. [Oncogene]

ESR1 Is Co-Expressed with Closely Adjacent Uncharacterised Genes Spanning a Breast Cancer Susceptibility Locus at 6q25.1
Researchers’ investigation of factors associated with the level of expression of ESR1 in estrogen receptor α-positive tumors has revealed unexpected associations between genes in this region and ESR1 expression that are important to consider in studies of the genetic causes of breast cancer risk. [PLoS Genet]

Transducin-Like Enhancer Protein 1 Mediates Estrogen Receptor Binding and Transcriptional Activity in Breast Cancer Cells
Investigators show that the human groucho protein, transducin-like enhancer protein 1, positively assists some estrogen receptor-chromatin interactions, a role that is distinct from its general role as a transcriptional repressor. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

Combination of Farnesyltransferase and Akt Inhibitors Is Synergistic in Breast Cancer Cells and Causes Significant Breast Tumor Regression in ErbB2 Transgenic Mice
In this article, preclinical data show that the combination of the Akt activation inhibitor triciribine and the farnesyltransferase inhibitor tipifarnib is more effective than single agents both in cultured cells and in vivo. [Clin Cancer Res]

Cdc42-Interacting Protein 4 Is a Src Substrate That Regulates Invadopodia and Invasiveness of Breast Tumors by Promoting Transmembrane Type I Matrix Metalloprotease Endocytosis
Researchers show that Cdc42-interacting protein 4 is a Src substrate that localizes to invadopodia in MDA-MB-231 breast tumor cells expressing activated Src. [J Cell Sci]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Tumor Characteristics Associated with Mammographic Detection of Breast Cancer in the Ontario Breast Screening Program
Scientists conducted a case-case study within the cohort of women (n = 431 480) in the Ontario Breast Screening Program who were aged 50 years and older and were screened between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 2002. [J Natl Cancer Inst]

Risk Prediction of Complex Diseases from Family History and Known Susceptibility Loci, with Applications for Cancer Screening
Researchers proposed a statistical framework for risk prediction given an individual’s genotype profile and family history. [Am J Hum Genet]

Immunohistochemical and Molecular Analyses of HER2 Status in Breast Cancers Are Highly Concordant and Complementary Approaches
Investigators compared immunohistochemistry and quantitative determination of HER2 overexpression in 466 breast tumors. [Br J Cancer]

Explaining the Difference in Prognosis Between Screen-Detected and Symptomatic Breast Cancers
Scientists analyzed 10-year survival data in 19 411 women aged 50–64 years diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom. [Br J Cancer]

OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Announces FDA Clearance to Commence Phase I Testing of Anti-Cancer Stem Cell Therapeutic OMP-18R5
OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the FDA has accepted an IND filing for OMP-18R5, which allows OncoMed to commence Phase I clinical testing. [OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Press Release]

Cianna Medical Closes $12 Million in Funding for SAVI Breast Cancer Treatment
Cianna Medical announced that it has successfully completed a funding round totaling $12 million. [Cianna Medical Press Release]

National Institutes of Health (United States)

Food and Drug Administration (United States)

Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (United States)

European Medicines Agency (European Union)

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (United Kingdom)

Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

NEW Stem Cells USA & Regenerative Medicine Congress
September 12-15, 2011
Boston, United States

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the mammary cell community.

Lab Technologist – Human Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (STEMCELL Technologies)

Post-doctoral Research Fellow (University of Ottawa)

Post-doctoral Fellow (University of Texas Medical School at Houston) 

Post-doctoral Research Associate (University of Wisconsin – Madison)

Post-doctoral Fellow (University of Texas Medical School at Houston)

Recruit Top Talent

Reach more than 11,000 potential candidates by posting your organization’s career opportunities on the Connexon Creative Job Board at no cost.

Jobs are categorized regionally: United States, Canada, Europe, Asia Pacific

Visit here to post your career opportunities.

Have we missed an important article or publication in Mammary Cell News? Click here to submit!

Comments or Suggestions? Email info@connexoncreative.com with your feedback.