Difference in Normal Breast Tissue Seen in Women at Higher Cancer Risk

There may be a difference between normal breast tissue in women at high risk of developing breast cancer and women who are at normal risk, according to Cancer Research Campaign researchers.

Investigators have compared normal breast tissue from women with the BRCA gene mutation, a risk factor for breast cancer, with breast tissue from women at normal risk and found crucial differences.

The primary difference appears to be in the way the cells respond to estrogen as well as estrogen-suppressing drugs such as Tamoxifen.

"When we added estrogen to the breast tissue, we expected a bigger response from the BRCA cells," said Dr. Rob Clarke of the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research in Manchester, England and lead researcher. "We thought they would grow faster than the normal cells but this didn't happen. Instead we found a far more subtle difference in the way other genes were responding to estrogen."

Researchers are hopeful that understanding these differences may lead to better drugs to fight breast cancer.

Other Sources: Cancer Research Campaign