Oz scientists make breast cancer breakthrough with protein discovery

New Delhi, Oct 2 (ANI): Making a huge breakthrough in potential breast cancer treatment, Australia's Brisbane-based researchers have found that the concentration of a protein that moves calcium into a specific area of the cell was higher in many breast cancers.

Published on Saturday, scientists at the have discovered the resence of a protein

"When people hear about calcium, they think milk, teeth and bones, but calcium is also an important signal that is tightly controlled by specific transporters," said Associate Professor Greg Monteith of University of Queensland in a statement.

"We now realize that these transporters can be altered in some cancer types.

"Hopefully these results and our current work will help us exploit these changes and target breast cancer more effectively," he added.

Characterising the new drug target was a six-year process involving collaboration with international researchers, while Associate Professor Sarah Roberts-Thomson said future treatments that target the protein could be used in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat breast cancer and prevent its spread.

"If you diminish the level of this transporter it stops the cancer cell from replicating or proliferating which is something that is a hallmark of cancer," Professor Roberts-Thomson said in a statement.

"We can show that if you decrease the level of this protein you can stop tumour growth," she added.

Roberts-Thomson said in a drug form that this could used with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, reports englishnews.cn.

"You could actually use this protein and use a drug that actually targets that protein and use it to treat some breast cancers," she said.

The study has been published in the prestigious scientific journal Cell. (ANI)