Researchers at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute have identified a promising gene that plays a role in difficult-to-treat metastatic breast cancer. Researchers believe this novel gene has significant clinical application when it comes to developing more effective breast cancer therapies.
The research has been published in Cancer Research, a scientific publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, the oldest and largest scientific organization in the world focused on every aspect of high-quality, innovative cancer research. The title of the research is, "Forkhead transcription factor Foxq1 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition and breast cancer metastasis."
The authors include principal investigator Guojun Wu, Ph.D., assistant professor of Oncology and Pathology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Barbara Ann Karmanos Institute. He also is a member of the Breast Cancer Biology Program at Karmanos. Other members of the team include Haijun Zhang, Ph.D., and Fanyan Meng, Ph.D., post-doctoral fellows in the School of Medicine's and the Karmanos Department of Oncology; Gang Liu, Ph.D., research associate in the Department of Oncology at Karmanos and WSU; Bin Zhang and Jun Zhu of Sage Bionetworks in Seattle; Feng Wu, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology, at the University of Chicago; Stephen P. Ethier, Ph.D., professor of Oncology for the School of Medicine and Karmanos; and Fred Miller, Ph.D., scientific director of the Cancer Cores and professor of Oncology and Breast Cancer Biology at the School of Medicine and Karmanos.
The team members have been studying breast cancer metastasis-related genes for four years and have used an innovative approach to identifying those genes that had never been utilized prior to their research.
"Identification of real metastasis-promoting genes is difficult but critical for the design of effective therapies," Dr. Wu said. "We found that the Foxq1 gene can enhance metastasis through promoting epithelial-in-mesenchymal transition, which describes the change in cellular morphology. Inhibiting the Foxq1 gene blocks the transition process, essentially stopping the spread of breast cancer cells.
"Our study not only improved our current understanding of breast cancer metastasis, but also has proven to have significant clinical application," he said. "Targeting the interplay between Foxq1 and the transforming growth factor protein is a promising strategy in targeting metastatic breast cancer."
Dr. Wu noted that the unique research approach elicited questions from many of their colleagues but that ultimately, it has allowed them to identify a group of novel genes and to better understand their function in metastasis -- Foxq1 being the first of those genes.
"We are very excited that the Foxq1 story is being published in Cancer Research," Dr. Wu said. "We are very sure that more important discoveries will be unveiled as we move forward with this project."