Study: Protein Beneficial to Brain Cells May Fuel Invasive Breast Cancer

The ability of some breast cancers to grow rapidly and tenaciously may be the result of a survival strategy borrowed from brain cells, according to researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

In a study to be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the researchers found that a protein called dermcidin, which is known to enhance the survival of certain brain cells, is present in about 10 percent of invasive breast tumors.

Dermcidin, or DCD, was also found to contribute to cachexia, a muscle-wasting and weight-losing condition that afflicts many cancer patients.

"The fact that DCD protects nerve cells in the brain from damage suggests it may have a similar effect on certain breast cancer cells – by enabling them to grow faster and avoid apoptosis [the natural process that causes cells to die after a set number of divisions]," said Dr. Kornelia Polyak.

"It appears that the same substance that is beneficial in the case of nerve cells can play a harmful role in the development of certain breast cancers," Polyak added.

Polyak decided to focus on DCD after finding that although normal breast cells do not contain the protein, it is overabundant in about 10 percent of all invasive breast cancers.

"We found that when DCD is produced in large amounts, breast tumors tend to be larger and more likely to spread beyond the breast,"said Polyak. "The protein was expressed at these high levels only in invasive tumors, not in early-stage ones."

Other Sources: Dana Farber Cancer Institute