Researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute have discovered a gene common to many types of breast cancer that may provide a new point of attack against the disease.

Scientists found the gene while looking in test tubes at cells extracted from different types of breast cancers. They were hoping to find proteins produced in abundance in breast cancer cells, but absent in healthy tissues.

A protein found in cancer but not in normal tissue is seen as a clear sign of a cancer gene at work.

The researchers said one gene in particular, known as BASE, caught their attention because it was present in many types of breast cancer, both local tumors and those that had spread.

They said the BASE gene is not the inherited type, but rather is found in far more common random breast cancers in which cells mutate in response to an environmental factor.

While the function of the BASE gene is not totally clear, researchers believe it is secreted from breast cancer cells into the blood rather than working solely within cells.

If true, the researchers said, a simple blood test might ultimately provide a way of diagnosing many different types of breast cancer.

Other sources: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences