Genome analysis promises hope for breast cancer patients

Peering into the underlying causes of breast cancer, researchers and oncologists are increasingly turning to genome analysis of patients to identify the mutated genes that drive the leading cause of cancer fatalities for women across the world.

The last year has already yielded studies that will spur clinical trials and possibly new drug treatments within the next few years, offering hope to women with common, rare and aggressive forms of breast cancer.

Things now move so much faster, said Dr. Ian Krop, a professor at Harvard Medical School and oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Within the next year, were going to know whether these drugs work for these types of cancer. Then, it will be more than a year or two to be absolutely sure of the magnitude of the benefit. Were going to know pretty quickly.

At major cancer treatment centers such as Dana Farber, genome analysis of breast cancer patients has become the norm only in the last 12 months, fueled by the $$131.4 million spent on genome research, which Krop called the next big wave for treating and attacking cancers.

The genetic screening at Dana Farber tests tumor tissue for 471 mutations across 41 genes.

The most obvious benefit of genome analysis is that it gives doctors a breadth of detail theyve never had before -- which genes are involved in the cancer.

As weve started having the ability to look at the DNA of individual cancers, its become clear that breast cancers -- even though they make look the same under microscope -- are clearly different, said Krop. They are driven by different alterations in their DNA.

Dr. Matthew Meyerson, a pathologist at Dana Farber and a senior co-author of a breast cancer genome study released in June, described the results as groundbreaking.

We found a lot of genes that are mutated in breast cancer that were previously only found in leukemia, he said.

The discovery could open up a new treatment, using leukemia-fighting drugs to inhibit the cancer-driving protein called PI3 kinase.

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Genome analysis promises hope for breast cancer patients