To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: New Discovery Links DNA Damage to the Spread of Breast Cancer URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/E2C6.htm Doctor's Guide November 26, 1996
SEATTLE, Nov. 26, 1996 -- Researchers at the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation in Seattle, Washington have discovered a strong link between damage to DNA and the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body, the main cause of death in breast cancer patients. They attribute much of the DNA damage to free radicals, highly reactive molecules that attack healthy cells. The discovery is the basis of a new test for detecting this early damage, as well as treatment to drastically reduce death from this disease. Free radicals may be generated through estrogen metabolism and the metabolism of environmental chemicals that can accumulate in breast tissue (e.g., pesticides). The authors' named the cancer-related damage radical-induced DNA disorder (RIDD). The study is reported in the November 26, 1996 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The DNA in cancer that spreads, metastatic cancer, is structurally very different from the DNA of primary cancer. The DNA of metastatic cancer contains an estimated eleven billion structures, three times the number in the primary cancer. The majority of these structures in both forms of cancer appear to be generated by free radicals, according to the lead author, Dr. Donald C. Malins, a member of the National Academy of Sciences. "In metastatic cancer, the creation of these huge numbers of DNA structures likely increases the chance that the precise genetic blueprint will turn up having all the properties necessary for the development of metastatic cells. That is, cancer cells that have the ability to break away from the host tumor, invade local tissue, survive the body's defense systems, and spread to other organs." Powerful computer models that can evaluate millions of molecular changes in the DNA of a woman's breast provide the evidence. Malins stated that "metastatic breast cancer is likely generated as a consequence of structural chaos and genetic instability created in the DNA, mostly as a consequence of the free radical attack." The findings may offer an explanation for the roughly 90% of breast cancers not known to be related to specific cancer genes." The DNA damage, which can now be identified in a normal woman's breast, is the basis for a new test for predicting the probable occurrence of breast cancer. The test could be used to detect the earliest changes in DNA, long before any cancer cells have appeared in the body. RIDD may respond to treatment that would reverse the DNA damage. According to Malins, "Diets rich in antioxidants that neutralize free radicals may well be helpful at early stages of DNA damage; however, extensive damage may require intervention with radical-trapping drugs that preferentially target breast cells. This should allow the damage to be repaired by the body's natural enzyme systems which are likely overwhelmed by the radical attack on DNA." Continuing research at the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation has shown that RIDD occurs in other cancer-prone tissues as well. This work was supported by the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation and U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command Contract No. DAMD17-95-1-5062. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.