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New findings in breast cancer research could be a “step on the way” to developing a cure for the disease in two years time, claim British scientists.
The research, which was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that molecules called microRNAs which are responsible for stopping cell division fail to do so in the case of breast cancer, allowing malignant cells to spread through the rest of the body.
Dr Justin Stebbing, senior lecturer and consultant medical oncologist at London’s Imperial College, is one of the experts behind the breakthrough, which has raised hopes of developing a drug to cure breast cancer.
Dr Stebbing told the Daily Express: “The way to cure breast cancer or any cancer is by fundamental biological understanding of what turns cells on and off, stopping the way tumours grow. We can use these microRNAs as a new treatment and make them do what current drugs don’t do.”
Calling this breakthrough a “step on the way” to “understand how to stop” breast cancer, he added: “There are no available drugs as yet but they should be available within a couple of years. This is a potential cure for breast cancer.”
Copyright Press Association 2009
