Gene markers identify the drivers of resistance to treatment of metastatic breast cancer

A multi-institutional research team led by scientists at Baylor College of Medicine has discovered a genetic signature that can identify drivers of poor prognosis for advanced estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer, which may be patients in the future Provide personalized treatment

24 gene markers to detect mutations and translocations in the estrogen receptor gene.

"About 80% of breast cancers grow on estrogen

Blocking the estrogen-estrogen interaction is a key treatment method

"One of the main methods for estrogen receptor + breast cancer cells to evade treatment is to create a mutant estrogen receptor that can no longer be recognized and targeted by estrogen-targeted anticancer drugs," Said Xuxu Gou, a graduate student in Ellis' lab and first author

The team has been studying the ESR1 gene translocation, which means that the ER gene exchanges part of its sequence with genetic information from another gene

"Not all endoplasmic reticulum translocations are active-some will cause metastasis and resistance to treatment, but some will not," Gou said

Supported by the PDXnet project of the National Cancer Institute, the team used genomics and transcriptomics to annotate 20 estrogen receptor + patient-derived tumor mouse models that showed varying degrees of estrogen growth Dependent

These findings are of great significance in the field of precision medicine, because they can provide specific details about tumors and guide doctors to choose more effective treatments

“In the future, patients’ cancer cells can be analyzed.