Welsh scientists discover vital clue to breast cancer spread.(fewer tight junction molecules make the body more prone to breast cancer invasiveness)

2003 JAN 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cancer Research U.K. scientists in Wales believe they have made a discovery that could help halt the rapid spread of breast cancer, revealing their findings at the world's largest breast cancer conference.

Dr. Wen Jiang and his team in Cardiff studied molecules called tight junctions, which act like zips sealing the gaps between cells in our bodies. They found that patients with fewer of these zips were more prone to breast cancer spread.

And they believe designing therapies to boost the levels of tight junctions could stop breast cancer cells from invading other parts of the body by closing up their escape routes.

"There are currently very effective methods to treat cancer confined to the breast but treatment becomes more difficult when abnormal cells spread to other parts of the body," said Professor Robert Mansel, from the University of Wales College of Medicine in Cardiff, one of the researchers.

"By understanding how cancer cells escape from a breast tumor we can look at ways to halt the process in its early stages and contain the disease, making it far more manageable."

Researchers analyzed breast tumors taken from 114 women and measured the levels of tight junctions in the tissue. In a 6-year follow-up they assessed each woman's health and compared their status to their levels of tight junctions.

They found that women whose breast cancer had spread had significantly lower levels of tight junctions in their tumors when compared ...