Science & Technology, Australia (Commonwealth Union) – Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer affecting women both in Australia and the world. Early detection with mammograms, scans and breast self-examinations are all components of the screening process for the disease.
Breast cancer begins when cells in the breast tissue start to grow and divide abnormally. This can lead to the formation of a lump or mass, which can be palpable via self-examination.
There are several different types of breast cancer, including ductal carcinoma (beginning in the milk ducts), lobular carcinoma (beginning in the lobules), inflammatory breast cancer (characterized by inflammation and redness), and Paget’s disease of the nipple (affecting the nipple and surrounding skin). The type of breast cancer and its stage of progression usually plays a role in the course of treatment.
Some of the known risk factors for breast cancer include age, gender, family history, personal history of breast cancer, certain gene mutations, obesity, and exposure to hormones for long periods in high quantities.
A global study, led by researchers from The University of Western Australia (UWA), has discovered a new feature of highly metastatic breast cancer cells which could lead to improved diagnostics and treatments.
The research, published in the journal Communications Biology, discovered that small bodies known as paraspeckles, which are contained inside the nucleus of cells, were utilized by cancer cells to assist them go faster and in a more forward direction as they burrow via the tissue to move into the blood stream.
Paraspeckles are unique structures inside the nucleus of eukaryotic cells that have recently garnered attention from the scientific community due to their complex functions and possible roles in disease. Paraspeckles are dynamic and constantly changing, and have a unique combination of proteins and RNA molecules that work together to regulate various cellular processes.
Professor Archa Fox and Dr Yu Suk Choi, from the UWA, School of Human Sciences, led the study to explore if invading breast cancer cells controlled their genes unlike normal cells by sensing and responding to their environment.
“We wanted to see how cancer cells adapt when they are forced to squeeze through tight spaces as they navigate the microenvironment of a tumour as the cancer is going through metastasis or spreading,” explained Professor Fox who also indicated that they applied a lab-based method to copy what takes place when breast cancer cells escape from the tumour, burrow via the tissue and move into the blood stream.
“We need to understand this process better so we can prevent it happening, and develop new treatments for cancer cells that are driven to behave this way,” she said.
Professor Fox stated that in the experimental laboratory setup scientists noticed, for the 1st time, that paraspeckles are elevated in number as the cells were being squeezed and compressed.
She further stated that the results indicate that paraspeckles were utilized by cancer cells to assist them go faster and in a more forward direction when metastasizing.
“With preventing, diagnosing and treating the appearance of secondary tumours in the body the key to reducing deaths in breast cancer patients. we hope our discovery will ultimately lead to the development of new drugs and diagnostic tools,” she Professor Fox.
Cancer researchers in recent years have drawn more focus to the impact of specific factors within the cell that are believed to be more closely linked to cancer. The recent aid of Artificial Intelligence has further shed more light on the nature of the disease with better data analyzing tools, hence the findings on Paraspeckles are likely to give researchers a new area of focus.
The research was funded partially by the Cancer Council Western Australia, with the next stage to be backed through the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Ideas Grant Program of the Australian Federal Government.
