The researchers discovered a breast cancer protein that can predict chemotherapy sensitivity

Researchers have identified a protein that, when present in large quantities in breast cancer tumors, is an indicator
of whether DNA-damaging therapies are effective.

Lead author Luiza Steffens-Reinhardt, PhD researcher at HMRI and Newcastle University, said the work could lead to more effective chemotherapy
for breast cancer patients.

"We looked at a particular variant of a protein called p53 because our previous studies have shown that this protein is highly present in breast cancer and is associated with
cancer recurrence," she said.

"We were surprised to find that by increasing levels of this p53 variant, breast cancer cells did not respond
to existing treatments.
Therefore, inhibiting this variant could enhance people's response to
currently used cancer treatments.
We recently confirmed these findings
in in vivo experiments.
”

In Australia, breast cancer affects more than 19,000 women each year, about a quarter of whom develop treatment resistance
.

"The main cause of death from breast cancer in women is drug resistance," Stephens-Reinhart said
.

"There is no cure for drug-resistant breast cancer
.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve therapies
that target the cells responsible for resisting these therapies.
”

Assistant Professor Kelly Avery-Kiejda, director of the Steffens-Reinhardt study, said the study could be the first step
toward better targeted treatments for breast cancer.

Associate Professor Avery-Kiejda said: "One in eight women in Australia has breast cancer, and while the survival rate is 92 per cent, this does not include secondary cancers or metastases, which are essentially incurable
.
"

"If we can identify biomarkers that predict a patient's response to certain therapies, we can more effectively target existing therapies
.
"