Breast cancer drug gets boost
Natural protein could make the most aggressive breast cancers vulnerable tamoxifen, and may even prevent the cancer’s spread
EDITOR’S NOTE: On December 2, 2010, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a retraction online of the research article discussed in this story. The full text of the retraction is available here.
Scientists have found a way to make cancer drugs work against drug-resistant types of breast cancer. The new research could provide another treatment option to women with particularly aggressive breast cancers, the scientists report online February 23 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Most breast cancers produce proteins called hormone receptors. Cancer drugs like tamoxifen work well against these cancers because tamoxifen binds to the hormone receptors and kills the cancer cell.