Gene Mapping Identifies Four Different Types of Breast Cancer

October 03, 2012

Woman taking mammogram test

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

A new genetic study has found four different types of breast cancer. Experts say this explains why drugs used to treat one form of breast cancer may not work to cure another form.

The findings are the latest results of a large cancer-gene mapping project called the Cancer Genome Atlas. Money for the research comes from the United States government’s National Cancer Institute. The project began in two thousand six. Organizers set a goal of identifying the bio-molecular causes of more than two hundred human cancers.

The latest findings offer the possibility of more-effective treatments for breast cancer with drugs that already exist. The findings are also giving doctors hope that they could one day find a cure for breast cancer.

The World Health Organization says breast cancer kills about four hundred fifty thousand people every year. It is the number one cause of cancer deaths in women.

The new study showed similarities between some breast cancer tumors and cancer cells that invade other parts of the body.

Researchers studied genetic material in breast cancer tumors from more than eight hundred patients. They found that cells in one of the breast cancer types looked like cells found in ovarian cancer tumors. The researchers say it is possible that drugs used to fight ovarian cancer might be effective against the breast tumors.