Protein that affects breast cancer identified

Scientists claim to have made a major breakthrough in breast cancer research, by identifying a protein which plays a key role in influencing the severity of the growth of tumours.

A team, led by Clare Fedele of Monash University, has discovered the levels of the protein, inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatase-II (INPP4B), in tumours determine the severity of breast cancer in women.

Fedele said: "We looked at a specific subtype of aggressive breast cancer and found that in about 90 per cent of these types of almost untreatable tumours, INPP4B was gone.

"This particular subtype of aggressive tumour doesn't usually respond to treatments such as Tamoxifin. But knowing the correlation between the amount of INPP4B protein and the cancer means we can at least consider treatment alternatives."

The scientists have also devised a new antibody which could identify the protein and measure its presence in breast cancer tissue. "We created an antibody to INPP4B, which works by specifically detecting the protein in biopsies from breast cancer patient samples," Fedele said.