A recent study by researchers at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre has identified the RET gene as a critical factor in breast cancer’s journey to the brain, highlighting a new avenue for potential treatments.
Breast cancer affects more than 3,500 people in Ireland each year and while many patients respond well to treatments targeting the primary tumour, some face the serious complication of the cancer spreading to the brain.
This condition, known as brain metastasis, poses significant treatment challenges and a need for new approaches to improve patient outcomes.
Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the recent study by researchers at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre reveals that the RET gene plays a significant role in allowing breast cancer cells to leave the primary tumour site and establish secondary tumours within the brain.
With this research, the team hopes to inspire more targeted treatments that can address the spread of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, a subtype often associated with poorer outcomes when it metastasises to the brain.
Cancer cell migration
Working alongside clinicians at the Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre, the researchers compared RET activity in cells from primary breast tumours and secondary brain metastatic tumours.
Their findings revealed that the RET gene, in conjunction with another growth-related gene known as EGFR, initiates processes that help cancer cells adhere to one another and spread, enabling cancer cells to migrate and settle in the brain environment.
Better patients outcomes
The pinpointing of RET's role as a driver in this process marks a step forward in the understanding of how breast cancer progresses, as well as hope for developing strategies that can interrupt this process, potentially leading to better outcomes for patients with limited current options.
The research was supported by funding from Breast Cancer Now, Breast Cancer Ireland, and Research Ireland.
RCSI is committed to achieving a better and more sustainable future through the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
