Breast Cancer Is Hard To Treat: What Protects These Tumor-Iniating Cells?

"Breast cancer is one of the types of cancer that is very difficult to treat because the tumor cells may come back and recur. A team of scientists has identified a protein that may play a pivotal role in maintaining a population of tumor-initiating cells (TICs), which are cells resistant to treatment.

Investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital have recognized a protein, called G3BP2, affects the survival and proliferative potential of breast cancer cells. This protein is responsible for regulating the ratio of TICs to non-TICs within a tumor.

"We also found that G3BP2 regulates breast tumor initiation in a way that leads to the increased expression of Oct-4 and Nanog, transcription factors contributing to the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells," Igor Garkavtsev, lead author of the study, said in a press release."

To read the full article, read HERE.

(Photo : American Cancer Society/Getty Images)