Gene Deficiency Ups Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Risk 35-Fold
Triple-negative breast cancer—the most aggressive form of breast cancer—is associated with a deficiency in the gene beclin 1, which controls autophagy, according to new research.
“We have potentially identified a new pathway to be targeted in the most aggressive, difficult-to-treat form of breast cancer,” said Beth Levine, MD, director of the Center for Autophagy Research and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at UT Southwestern.1
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For the study, researchers at University of Texas Southwestern evaluated levels of expression of of beclin 1 and BRCA1 from 3057 breast cancer patients from the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Symposium in the United Kingdom and Canada and The Cancer Genome Project in the United States. 1,2
Researchers found that low levels of beclin 1 activity yielded a 35-fold increased risk of manifesting triple-negative breast cancer a 67% risk of breast cancer-related mortality compared to those participants with higher beclin 1 levels.1
“These data suggest that decreased beclin 1 activity contributes to breast cancer and poor survival outcomes. As a result, therapies that increase beclin 1 activity in breast cancer may be beneficial,” the researchers concluded.1
-Michelle Canales
References:
1. UT Southwestern Medical Center Nearly 1 in 5 women who undergo hysterectomy may not need the procedure. January 30, 2015. www.utsouthwestern.edu/newsroom/news-releases/year-2015/jan/beclin-1-levine.html. Accessed February 2, 2015.
2. Tang H, Sebti S, Titone R, et al. Decreased BECN1 mRNA expression in human breast cancer is associated with estrogen receptor-negative subtypes and poor prognosis. Ebio Med. 2015 January [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2015.01.008.