University of Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers presented more than a dozen abstracts at the 2023 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, including findings that could advance treatments for head and neck and breast cancers.
According to the American Cancer Society s estimate, over 280,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in 2021, explains Xiaoting Zhang, PhD, professor and Thomas Boat Endowed Chair in UC s Department of Cancer Biology, director of the Breast Cancer Research Program and member of the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center, who led this research. Like many other cancers, breast cancer cells are fueled by mutations and overproduction of driver genes, which lead the process of cancer development.
He says one of these genes, called HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2), accounts for about 20% of all human breast cancer cases, and while there are some therapies to target it, unwanted side effects and treatment resistance often occur in patients, causing relapse.
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IMAGE: Jun-Lin Guan, PhD, Francis Brunning Professor and Chair of UC s Department of Cancer Biology. view more
Credit: University of Cincinnati
Recycling cans and bottles is a good practice. It helps keep the planet clean.
The same is true for recycling within cells in the body. Each cell has a way of cleaning out waste in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells. This cell recycling is called autophagy.
Targeting and changing this process has been linked to helping control or diminish certain cancers. Now, University of Cincinnati researchers have shown that completely halting this process in a very aggressive form of breast cancer may improve outcomes for patients one day.