Despite a therapeutic arsenal making it possible to cure nearly 90% of affected women by breast cancer, a large number of patients are still in a situation of treatment failure. Fatal forms of cancer most often have one predominant feature, which is an ability to metastasize away from the birthplace of the tumor. The search for drugs capable of halting this metastatic spread therefore remains an absolute priority.
An anomaly easy to reveal
By studying the molecular abnormalities of these aggressive cancers, the team of Prof. Jean-Paul Borg and researchers at the Paoli-Calmettes Institute in Marseille have identified an alteration that promotes the mobility of breast cancer cells and the formation of metastases. . This anomaly, easily revealed in patients by molecular testing, consists of an overproduction of a protein called PRICKLE1 which dictates the activation of an enzyme (AKT) well known for its multiple effects on tumor growth and its dissemination.
In an article published in the journal Developmental Cell, researchers demonstrate the mechanism of action of PRICKLE1 and, above all, propose two possibilities for targeting this anomaly in cancers. A patent has also been filed by the team to start a drug development program with chemists from the CRCM.
These results therefore open up new therapeutic perspectives for patients with aggressive breast cancer but also for others. cancer patients since the anomaly affecting PRICKLE1 is also diagnosed in other cancers.
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