Australian scientists link protein, breast cancer

ADELAIDE: South Australian scientists have found a groundbreaking link between an obscure protein and aggressive types of breast cancers that mostly affect younger women and have the worst survival rates.

Researchers from the University of South Australia discovered high levels of a protein, called Creld2, caused breast cancer to develop and grow more quickly.

A paper published in Nature Cell Biology yesterday, outlines how the aggressive cancers produce the protein, which takes control of healthy cells and advances tumour growth.

Senior researcher Associate Prof Michael Samuel said scientists had been aware of Creld2 for some time but it had not been wellstudied.

‘‘Until now we hadn’t understood the role it plays in breast cancer,’’ he said.

‘‘Our approach has been different to the approaches other people have been using which is, rather than targeting the cancer itself, to look for ways in which we target the surrounding normal cells which the cancer hijacks in order to help them progress and spread.

‘‘Creld2 appears to make normal, healthy cells surrounding the tumour behave abnormally, causing them to help tumours grow.’’

Samuel and his team are now looking at ways to destroy or block the protein, hoping to stop breast cancers from growing and spreading around the body.

‘‘There are a couple of ways this can be done. One is to discover how the protein binds to these normal cells it hijacks.

‘‘The other is to raise antibodies against the protein to neutralise or destroy it.’’

Triplenegative breast cancers, commonly affecting younger women, have high levels of the protein and have the poorest survival rates.

These types of cancers make up about 15% of all breast cancers in Australia.

High levels of Creld2 are also found in kidney, nonmelanoma skin and squamous cell cancers.

Colead scientist Dr Marina Kochetkova said the biggest problem with triplenegative breast cancers was that they often reoccured, metastasised and acquired drug resistance.

‘‘It is unlikely to cure triplenegative breast cancers but it will help with the combination of other drugs to make it less aggressive.’’ — AAP