95 percent

of breast cancer patients can be cured, if detected early.

Breast cancer cells with high UGT8 expression produce large amounts of sulfatide, leading to activation of signaling pathways critical for the survival and metastasis of BLBC. Depleting UGT8 from these cells lowered sulfatide production and decreased lung metastasis in mice, according to the team’s findings, which were published in the May 4 issue of the US-based Journal of Experimental Medicine.

The researchers also identified that zoledronic acid is a direct inhibitor of UGT8, which efficiently blocks the enzymatic activity of UGT8 and blocks the metastasis of cancer cells.

Two recent retrospective studies from randomized trials showed that a trend favoring zoledronic acid treatment was observed in triple-negative breast cancer despite a relatively small sample size.

“Our study and these retrospective findings strongly support the translational value of zoledronic acid as a direct inhibitor of UGT8, and BLBC might be the most promising subtype to be effectively treated with additional zoledronic acid,” Dong told China Daily on Monday.

However, he said, further clinical trials are required.

Statistics from the China Society of Clinical Oncology show that breast cancers have become the most common cancer in women worldwide.

The risk of developing breast cancer increases with age, but in China women are being diagnosed at younger ages than their Western counterparts, the China Anti-Cancer Association said.

The average age of Chinese women diagnosed with breast cancer is 45 to 55, about 10 or even 20 years younger than their counterparts in Western countries, Zhang Jin, vicechair of the association’s breast cancer committee, was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency.

If detected early, 95 percent of breast cancer patients can be cured. However, challenges remain in rural and remote areas where patients often do not get tested until it’s too late.