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Insulin-Like Growth Factor Predicts Poor Outcome in Breast Cancer HOUSTON, Tex -- August 29, 2008 -- The response to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in breast cancer cells predicts an aggressive tumour that is less likely to respond to treatment, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. "These findings come at a critical time," said Adrian Lee, MD, Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. "Our goal is to identify biomarkers that will help predict which patients will respond to therapy against insulin-like growth factor. Several inhibitors of the IGF pathway are in patient studies right now. There's a large movement to understand which patients will respond to these drugs. This is a step toward that goal." Dr. Lee and colleagues stimulated breast cancer cells with IGF-1 in the laboratory and defined how more than 800 genes in the cells responded to the growth factor. They then examined samples of patients' breast tumours with this gene signature and correlated the gene signatures with the fate of the patients. "We found that IGF-1 is a major regulator of cell growth and cell survival," said Dr. Lee. "It also regulates DNA repair." This has major implications for anticancer treatments that seek to cause DNA damage and tumour cell death. "If you have something regulating DNA repair, you want that turned off." They found that tumours in which IGF affected the way genes were activated or translated into messages were more aggressive and more likely to grow. They also found that the effect of IGF was independent of whether the tumour was affected by estrogen or not. "Once patients are resistant to hormone treatment, their treatment options are limited. A treatment that inhibited receptors for IGF might give them another option," said Dr. Lee. SOURCE: Baylor College of Medicine E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version