Looking at 1,300 breast cancer samples, the Cancer Research UK-funded scientists found that the influence of these microRNAs, which help control how genes behave, varies between different subtypes of breast cancer.
Last year Cambridge scientists published a landmark study, METABRIC, showing that breast cancer can be subdivided into ten distinct genetic subtypes. These new findings relate to the most common form, which is unusual in that the body appears to mount a strong immune response to the disease. This is thought to be the reason why patients with this type of breast cancer tend to have a better outlook than those with other forms.
The researchers were searching for relationships between the individual subtypes of breast cancer and patterns of microRNA activity in the tumours. They found that the types of cancers that trigger the immune system also have a characteristic ‘signature’ of microRNAs, which seem be playing a role in controlling this response.
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Image Credit: Carlos Caldas
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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Genetic ‘fine tuning’ controls body’s own attack against breast cancer
7 May 2013
The body’s own immune system’s fight against breast cancer is controlled by genetic ‘fine tuners’, known as microRNAs, according to a study just published in Nature.