For Immediate Release
November 8, 2006

 Buffalo, NY – Research in the Department of Cancer Genetics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) led by distinguished member, Nicoletta Sacchi, PhD, provides the basis for a sensitive molecular test that could predict breast cancer risk and prevent the development of the disease.

The results of the study, published in the November 1, 2006 issue of Cancer Research, demonstrate, for the first time, the sequential transcriptional silencing (repression) of two retinoic acid (RA)-responsive genes that mediate the response to vitamin A – fundamental for breast wellness – in a concerted fashion in breast epithelial cells.

“RA is an epigenetic (external) regulator that has a pivotal role in breast morphogenesis and development,” explains Dr. Sacchi. “An impaired RA signal in human breast epithelial cells triggers a repressive epigenetic ‘domino’ effect on RA-receptor beta 2 (RARb2) and then cellular retinol binding protein 1 (CRBP1) that causes morphological changes of breast cell transformation that resemble the peculiar changes observed in early breast cancer.”

The silencing of these genes, the authors note, is marked by an accumulation of chemical modifications that are readily detectable with current methodologies on either breast cells obtained by slender needle aspiration or in breast fluid.

“The identification of this epigenetic network that mechanistically links RARb2 and CRBP1 transcription in normal breast epithelial cells provides the basis for devising a more accurate, sensitive test to predict breast cancer,” according to Dr. Sacchi. “This test would identify cells that are seemingly normal, yet susceptible to becoming malignant, and could be sensitive enough to identify changes in breast fluid samples before cancer cells are detectable by a pathologist.”

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment, and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call

1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org

 

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