Daily News

New gene identified in breast cancer

Researchers at McMaster University and McGill University have identified a new player in breast cancer. This gene, beta1-integrin, has been shown to be critical in the initiation of tumour growth and development in a mouse model of cancer. "We are the first to demonstrate the requirement for beta1-integrin in the induction of breast cancer in genetically engineered mice," says senior author William Muller, formerly of McMaster and now a professor of medicine and biochemistry at McGill. "Our findings show that blocking the function of this gene halts tumour proliferation. We also show that in our model of breast cancer, tumour cells do not grow without beta1-intergrin. These results demonstrate the importance of this gene in tumour biology. The next step is to look for therapeutics which block this gene in humans."