BY JENNAH YOO
Figure 1: A patient outlooks the symptoms of metastatic breast cancer. (Source Credit: Health News)
Using the power of rapid technological advancements and medical science, the 21st century has been a period of overcoming numerous diseases that seemed ineradicable, such as smallpox and rinderpest (“Eradication of Diseases”). Despite the recurring successful triumphs today’s scientific knowledge has declared over some of the world’s most viral diseases, there still remains an innumerable number of fatal medical conditions. One of the most heavily discussed yet precarious being cancer.
Cancer is a disease where DNA mutations induce cellular changes that cause uncontrollable cellular division, disabling the cell’s function to undergo programmed cell death, or apoptosis. This condition results in tumors, damage to the immune system, and other impairments that can be fatal for a patient (Ranchod). Within the category of cancer, globally, the most common cancer worldwide is breast cancer.
Currently, nearly 4 million women in the United States alone are diagnosed with breast cancer (Boughey). Despite the commonality of the type, the diagnosis and adequate treatment of the condition had been a complex and difficult process. However, recent medical advancements have made a discovery that will likely benefit the remedy of breast cancer.
Recently, a multi-institutional national study led by the AURORA US Metastasis Network Project, has identified unique molecular features responsible for the development and progression of metastatic breast cancer. Being one of the first to use a multiple genomic platform to analyze tumors and their paired metastasis, the study analyzed 55 women with metastatic breast cancer (Henderson).
According to Nature Cancer, one of the key unique features involved in the development of metastatic breast cancer includes the methylation, or the addition of a small chemical group to a DNA molecule, of the HLA-A gene, a genetic feature that induces change in the immune system. Focal deletions of the HLA-A gene were also found in the study, which further contributed to the generation of fewer immune cells being available to attack cancerous cells (Henderson).
Q&A:
Hannah: Now that scientists know what one of the key factors of breast cancer is, what
could be done with this information to cure breast cancer in the future?
CRISPR and other new technological advancements in medicine can possibly aid in curing breast cancer or even preventing it in the future. For example, scientists may prevent the addition of the small chemical group to the HLA-A gene through biomedical engineering. Another possibility to combat breast cancer through this newly cultivated information would be to discover new genes or medicine to reverse the effects of focal deletions/mutations.
Works Cited
Henderson, Emily. “Study uncovers molecular features responsible for the development, progression of metastatic breast cancer.” News Medical, AzoNetwork, 9 January 2023, https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230109/Study-uncovers-molecular-features-responsible-for-the-development-progression-of-metastatic-breast-cancer.aspx. Accessed 26 January 2023.
Ranchod, Yamini, et al. “Cancer: Overview, causes, treatments, and types.” Medical News Today, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323648. Accessed 26 January 2023.
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