Date: January 02 2013 AUSTRALIAN researchers have found a
''genetic switch'' that has the potential to open up new
treatments for breast cancer. The switch allows scientists to
change breast cancer cells and make them more responsive to
different kinds of treatments, such as anti-oestrogen therapies.
Outlined in the latest edition of the journal PLoS Biology,
researchers from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in
Sydney found that the molecule known as ELF5 can turn genes on
or off. By manipulating the molecule, the breast cancer cell's
sensitivity to anti-oestrogen drugs used to treat breast cancer
can be increased. ''We've made a discovery that concerns the
basic biology of breast cancer,'' said Professor Chris Ormandy
from the Garvan Institute. ''ELF5 determines whether cells will
respond to oestrogen therapy or not.'' Oestrogen plays a key
role in breast cancers. Women who don't experience much
oestrogen in their lives either because they start menstruating
later in life or begin menopause early hav