SubscribeBRCA1 Mutations Influence Cancer Cells’ Response To Drugs
JNCI publish study by Queens University, Belfast and Almac Diagnostics
Cancer Research Results for BRCA1
Today the Journal of the National Cancer Institutes published results of a collaboration between Queens University, Belfast and Almac Diagnostics using the company's Breast Cancer DSA™, to generate valuable new insight into the interactions between BRCA1 and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα).
It has been widely reported in the literature that BRCA1 linked breast cancers typically fail to express ER, however the mechanism behind this link has remained obscure. ER is the therapeutic target for antiestrogen therapies such as fulvestrant and tamoxifen, while BRCA1, a tumour suppressor gene, is associated with genetic predisposition to breast and ovarian cancers.
Almac Diagnostics Breast Cancer DSA™
The Queens / Almac study has demonstrated that BRCA1 alters the response of breast cancer cells to fulvestrant therapy by directly modulating ERα mRNA expression.
"The initial clue that BRCA1 may directly regulate ER at the mRNA level came from expression profiling studies utilising the Almac Diagnostics Breast Cancer DSA™ directly from Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE) tumour samples" commented Prof Paul Harkin.
Craigavon, Northern Ireland, 14 November 2007