Breast Cancer Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Breast Cancer, including details on symptoms, genetics, screening, treatment, information.

BRCA1 and stem cells: tumour typecasting.

Smalley MJ, Reis-Filho JS, Ashworth A

Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre, Institute of Cancer Research, Fulham Road, London, SW3 6JB, UK. Matthew.Smalley@icr.ac.uk

Phenotypic variation between tumour types is likely to reflect the nature of the cell of origin and the genes involved in pathogenesis. Compared with most sporadic breast cancers, those arising in carriers of BRCA1 mutations usually have distinctive pathological characteristics. A new study suggests that a role for BRCA1 in the determination of stem-cell fate may explain this phenomenon.

Published 1 April 2008 in Nat Cell Biol, 10(4): 377-9.
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