New Gene Therapy to Check Breast Cancer

MIT scientists have developed a new gene therapy technique that can stop the spread of malignant cells around the body – the leading cause of mortality in women with breast cancer. The treatment uses microRNAs – small non-coding RNA molecules that around the body, known as metastasis. The therapy could be used alongside chemotherapy to treat early-stage breast cancer tumours before they spread. The idea is that if the cancer is diagnosed early enough, then in addition to treating the primary tumour (with chemotherapy), one could also treat with specific microRNAs, in order to prevent the spread of cancer cells that cause metastasis. The regulation of gene expression by microRNAs is known to be important in preventing the spread of cancer cells.