New Approach Enables Better Analysis of Breast Cancer Tumors

Duke University researchers report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences development of a new method of analyzing breast cancer tumors to determine whether their estrogen receptor status makes them more likely to spread to lymph nodes.

A DNA microarray, also known as a "gene chip," allows researchers to examine thousands of genes from a single tumor sample and "diagnose tumors with much greater detail than now possible," said Joseph Nevins, senior author of the study.

"The determination of estrogen receptor status is an important aspect of breast cancer diagnosis because of its role in promoting tumor growth," said Nevins. "It also has implications for therapies.

"Although an analysis for estrogen receptor can be done now, the use of gene expression analysis provides much more detailed information about the nature of estrogen receptor status in these tumors," Nevins said.

Researchers are hopeful that the technique will eventually lead to new diagnostic tests that can predict the status of tumors with precision, allowing improved diagnosis and treatment.

"This technique goes beyond the standard practice of visually examining a tumor and deciding on treatment and outcomes based on that examination," said Nevins. "Since the visual information that guides a pathologist's diagnosis is largely determined by the gene expression within the tumor, our ability to directly analyze gene expression on a very large scale, and ultimately to analyze every gene that is expressed in the tumor, affords the opportunity to diagnose tumors with much greater detail than now possible."

Other Sources: Duke University