Study: Gene Tied to Bowel Cancer Now Linked to Breast Cancer

A gene that plays a role in the development of colorectal cancer may be linked to breast cancer, according to researchers at the Yamagata School of Medicine in Japan.

In the study published in the British Journal of Cancer, researchers claim they found a gene that normally defends the body from cancer "switched off" in more than one third of the breast cancer tumors they tested.

Detection of the gene, called Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), may lead to earlier detection of breast cancer, better treatments or better methods of prevention, said the researchers.

"We already knew the APC gene was important in bowel cancer, but to find that it's switched off in so many breast cancers is really exciting," said Dr. Gen Tamura, team leader. "This gene could now be a valuable target for breast cancer drugs of the future."

The APC gene is one of the genes that defends the body from cancer but when the gene goes wrong, the cancer protection is nullified. A healthy person needs one APC gene from each parent to have the tumor protection.

If a person is born with a damaged APC gene, that person often develops an inherited form of colorectal cancer called Familial Adenomatous Polyposis. The APC gene is also often mutated in non-inherited forms of colorectal cancer.

Researchers tested 50 breast tumors to see if the APC genes had been switched off and found that in 18 of the 50, at least one of the two APC genes was turned off. Researchers also tested 21 healthy tissue samples and found that in these APC genes, none was switched off.

"The fact that we only found inactivation of APC genes in breast tumors, and not in normal tissue, suggests these changes are specific to the disease and may be important in its development," said Tamura.

Other sources: Cancer Research Campaign