A single isolated gene appears that is responsible for deadly breast cancers, increasing the chances of metastasis and making cancer more resistant to chemotherapy, U.S. researchers said.

Researchers found that people with chronic breast cancers have abrupt genetic variations in a gene called MTDH, and drugs that inhibit this gene could stop the spreading and provider better chances of survival in women.

“Along with the identified metastasis gene, this gene is one of them which exact mode of action is known,” said Dr. Michael Reiss.

“This study provides the most relevant information in producing such drug that will inhibit metastasis.”

Limiting cancer’s spread is important. More than 98 percent, breast cancer patients that have not metastasis live more than five years. There are only 27 percent of patients whose cancer penetrate in other parts of the vital organs.

The team collected data of 250 patients of breast cancer to look for the genetic abnormalities and isolated the gene MTDH was hyper active or expressed in aggressive tumors.

“This gene known as MTDH is present in every cell of our body,” Kang said in a telephone interview. “In some way the tumor gains extra copies of gene and over expresses them.

In their experiment, researchers inserted tumor cells with this genetic mutation, in mice and found the mice formed tumors with most spreading type. These mice were more resistant to traditional chemotherapy drug treatment, such as paclitaxel.

But when the tumor was genetically altered, inhibiting the MTDH gene, then these cells become more susceptible to chemotherapy and less metastasis.

These finding provides better opportunity to develop which not only stop spreading, but also make them more responsive to chemotherapy drug treatment.

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