Breast cancer stem cells can be targeted to stop disease

In findings released in the Clinical Cancer Research journal, University of Manchester scientist Rob Clarke, funded by leading medical research charity Breast Cancer Campaign, has proved for the first time that breast cancer stem cells taken directly from patients can be successfully targeted to treat the disease. Stopping breast cancer stem cells could reduce the chance of tumours surviving treatments, coming back and spreading to other parts of the body such as the bones, liver or brain. In the study, Clarke, based at the University of Manchester and his team of scientists, isolated 19 breast cancer stem cell samples from 16 patients with invasive and advanced breast cancer, six of which were HER-2 positive. They discovered that a molecule called Interleukin-8 (IL-8) was found in patients with more breast cancer stem cells, and played a significant role in controlling their activity. When this molecule IL-8 is blocked in HER2-positive types of breast cancer, lapatinib, a drug that cancer specialists currently use to target advanced HER-2 positive breast cancer, a particularly aggressive type of the disease, became even more effective at stopping the activity of cancer stem cells. Around 50,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK and 12,000 women still die. Around 30 per cent, 15,000 of those diagnosed, have HER-2 positive breast cancer but currently only have a small number of treatment options so new ways to treat it are needed.