• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
CDE Almería – Centro de Documentación Europea – Universidad de Almería

CDE Almería - Centro de Documentación Europea - Universidad de Almería

Centro de Documentación Europea de la Universidad de Almería

  • HOME
  • WHAT´S ON
    • EU BULLETINS
    • EU NEWS
    • Activities
    • EU Calls and Awards
    • Radio Program «Europe with You»
  • DOCUMENTATION
    • Bibliographic Collection
      • Almería EDC Digital Collection
      • UNIVERSITY OF ALMERIA LIBRARY
    • Documentation by topic
    • EU Media Collection
      • Web Space
      • MEDIATHEQUE REPOSITORY
  • Europe on the net
    • Institutions
    • EU Representation in Spain
    • European information network of Andalusia
    • EU official journal
  • ABOUT US
    • Presentation
    • People
    • Contact
  • English
  • Spanish

Why stem cells could hold key to tackling breast cancer

Inicio » EU News » Why stem cells could hold key to tackling breast cancer

14 de October de 2019

Stem cells can play a critical role in breast cancer relapses, EU-funded researchers have found. By understanding the molecular characteristics of these stem cells, the BRECASTEM project hopes to advance new treatments and more targeted therapies – and ultimately save lives.

The cells in our body are constantly being replaced. This requires new cells to be continually produced, just to maintain equilibrium. “It’s a bit like having a car – once a component wears out, it needs to be replaced,” explains BRECASTEM (Functional and Molecular Characterisation of Breast Cancer Stem Cells) project coordinator Dr Axel Behrens from the Francis Crick Institute in the UK.

These new cells are produced by stem cells. Unlike the ‘working’ cells in our skin or hair that are constantly being shed and replaced, stem cells can live for years. It is this property that makes them more likely to give rise to a tumour, as cancerous ‘working cells’ generally don’t stick around long enough to spread.

Understanding cell behaviour

The BRECASTEM project focused on Lgr6-positive cells, a very specific stem cell population located in the breast. One of the functions of this particular stem cell is to mediate breast expansion after pregnancy. Scientists at the Francis Crick Institute recently confirmed that a tumour-inducing genetic change occurring in these cells can lead to a particular form of breast cancer.

“Chemotherapy will help to shrink the tumour, but there is also a risk that after therapy the tumour will grow back again,” says Dr Behrens. From this basic understanding, the project team worked to characterise the molecular differences between cancer stem cells and non-stem cells. The project confirmed a conceptual similarity between how a normal organ is built and how a tumour is built. In both, stem cells and ‘working’ cells play a role.

“This is one of the first times that scientists have demonstrated that there is indeed a small sub-population of cells within the tumour that can be linked to post-chemo relapse. It is these cancer stem cells that initiate the relapse,” Dr Behrens adds.

Optimistic findings

Dr Behrens acknowledges that there is ongoing scientific debate on this issue but is confident that the findings of the BRECASTEM project represent an important step forward. “The first step towards finding a cure is understanding how relapses are caused. Now we have a better picture of how this happens, we can work on ways of getting rid of these malignant stem cells and making a relapse far less likely,” Dr Behrens says.

In getting to that place, Dr Behrens believes that collaborations such as the BRECASTEM project will be critical and adds that there is a growing realisation that every tumour is different. Tumours can be classified into groups, but this does not necessarily mean that they can be treated the same.

It is expected that the findings of the BRECASTEM project will feed into further research towards the development of stem cell therapies for specific cancers. “Given the usual timeline of clinical development, this is something that will take years. But I do predict that there will eventually be drugs that are aimed at eradicating cancer stem cells,” concludes Dr Behrens. This research was undertaken with the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie programme.

More information

Full news

Programa Marie Skłodowska-Curie

Más información en el bloque temático de Investigación e Innovación

Publicaciones relacionadas:

A mobile app that saves lives: remote symptom monitoring for cancer patients New intraoperative probe for breast cancer tissue Research in Europe: Your Next Career Destination! Humanoids may soon conquer airplane assembly A week of events open to citizens will focus on future EU research and scientific excellence

“This is a space for debate. All comments, for or against publication, that are respectful and do not contain expressions that are discriminatory, defamatory or contrary to current legislation will be published”.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Publicaciones relacionadas


A mobile app that saves lives: remote symptom monitoring for cancer patients


New intraoperative probe for breast cancer tissue


Research in Europe: Your Next Career Destination!


Humanoids may soon conquer airplane assembly


A week of events open to citizens will focus on future EU research and scientific excellence

Footer

Logotipo en negativo del Centro de Documentación Europea de Almería
  • CDE Almería
  • Edificio Parque Científico-Tecnológico (Pita)
  • Planta: 1ª, Despacho: 2904120.
  • Ctra. Sacramento s/n. Almería (Spain)
  • Teléfono: (+34) 950 015266

HOME
NEWS
DOCUMENTATION
EUROPE ON THE NET
ABOUT US

  • LEGAL NOTICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • COOKIE POLICY
  • ACCESSIBILITY
  • SITEMAP

Copyright © 2023 CDE Almería · Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

<p>El Centro de Documentación Europea de la Universidad de Almería utiliza cookies propias y de terceros para facilitar al usuario la navegación en su página Web y el acceso a los distintos contenidos alojados en la misma. Asimismo, se utilizan cookies analíticas de terceros para medir la interacción de los usuarios con el sitio Web. Pinche el siguiente enlace si desea información sobre el uso de cookies y como deshabilitarlas. ajustes</p>

Politica de privacidad

El Centro de Documentación Europea de la Universidad de Almería utiliza cookies propias y de terceros para facilitar al usuario la navegación en su página Web y el acceso a los distintos contenidos alojados en la misma. Asimismo, se utilizan cookies analíticas de terceros para medir la interacción de los usuarios con el sitio Web. Pinche el siguiente enlace si desea información sobre el uso de cookies y como deshabilitarlas. <a href="/politica-de-cookies" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Más información</a>

Cookies estrictamente necesarias

Las cookies estrictamente necesarias tiene que activarse siempre para que podamos guardar tus preferencias de ajustes de cookies.

Básicamente la web no funcionara bien si no las activas.

Estas cookies son:

  • Comprobación de inicio de sesión.
  • Cookies de seguridad.
  • Aceptación/rechazo previo de cookies.

Si desactivas esta cookie no podremos guardar tus preferencias. Esto significa que cada vez que visites esta web tendrás que activar o desactivar las cookies de nuevo.

Cookies de terceros

Esta web utiliza Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager y Yandex Metrika para recopilar información anónima tal como el número de visitantes del sitio, o las páginas más populares.

Dejar estas cookies activas nos permite mejorar nuestra web.

¡Por favor, activa primero las cookies estrictamente necesarias para que podamos guardar tus preferencias!

Política de cookies

Pinche el siguiente enlace si desea información sobre el uso de cookies y como deshabilitarlas. Más información