A protein that causes breast cancer to worsen faster.

The researchers found that the protein, called Creld2, is closely related to several types of highly invasive breast cancer, which "hijack" healthy cells and promote tumor growthThe paper is published in the British journal Nature Cell BiologyMichael Samuel, an associate professor at the University of South Australia and one of the study's leading, said the protein appeared to "behave abnormally" on normal healthy cells around the tumor, helping the tumor growHis team is currently working on therapies that destroy or block the protein's function, with the aim of preventing breast cancer from developing and spreading in the bodyresearchers have found high levels of Creld2 protein in triple-negative breast cancerThis type of breast cancer accounts for about 15 per cent of breast cancer cases in AustraliaTriple-negative breast cancer is difficult to treat, has low survival rates and often affects young women, researchers found high levels of Creld2 protein in kidney cancer, non-melanoma skin cancer, and invasive squamous cell carcinomaSamuel said the poor prognosis of these types of cancer, if it destroys or blocks the protein's function, will likely stop the development of these cancers.