How Breast Cancer Arises Breakthrough

Summary

Researchers made several significant advances in 2023 in understanding the molecular mechanisms that initiate and sustain breast cancer, including identifying a protein called RAC1B that enables cancer stem cells to form tumors and resist treatment. In laboratory models, breast cancer stem cells lacking RAC1B were unable to form visible tumors even after 100 days, suggesting the protein plays a critical gating role in whether dormant malignant cells become dangerous disease.

Complementary research demonstrated for the first time that dormant cancer cells can be detected in survivors years after treatment and potentially eliminated with repurposed drugs, opening a path toward preventing the metastatic recurrences that account for the majority of breast cancer deaths. Together with the identification of PDGF-C as a regulator of whether dormant cells remain inactive or reawaken, the year's findings provided a more detailed molecular picture of breast cancer development than had previously existed, pointing toward targeted therapies matched to the specific biological vulnerabilities of different tumor subtypes.