New Breast Cancer Biomarker May Determine Unresponsiveness to Treatment
the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:
According to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers have discovered a new biomarker that may help predict breast cancer relapses and chemotherapy responsiveness. The oncogene, called DP103, activates two sets of unfavorable proteins.
One set leads to breast cancer metastasis and the other causes resistance to chemotherapy. By identifying levels of DP103 in patients with breast cancer, clinicians may be able to determine the probability or metastasis and which chemotherapy regimens would be more effective than others.
Furthermore, the researchers also found that by reducing levels of DP103, which is activated in metastatic breast cancer, one could inhibit cancer growth, decrease cancer size, and make patients more responsive to chemotherapy. The results were only found in samples of breast cancer tissue, not in clinical studies. There is currently no drug available that can inhibit DP103 activity, but the discovery provides a target for future drug development.
Testing for DP103 would provide clinicians with the opportunity to select more appropriate treatments for certain patients with breast cancer. In addition, it would eliminate the need to wait months for a response to treatment, only to find out that therapy was not effective.

Scientists have made it easier to predict breast cancer relapses and responses to chemotherapy.
Scientists have made it easier to predict both breast cancer relapses and responses to chemotherapy, through the identification of a unique gene.
The newly found marker could help doctors classify each breast cancer patient and customise a treatment regimen that is more effective. The discovery was a collaborative effort by scientists from A*STAR's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), and the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Despite advancements in cancer treatment, breast cancer remains the most common cancer among Singapore women. Thirty percent of early breast cancer patients in the world experience relapse due to metastasis, or the spread of cancer cells to other organs in the body. Some patients also do not respond well to chemotherapy.
Related Resources
Sign Up for Free e-newsletters
Regimen and Drug Listings
GET FULL LISTINGS OF TREATMENT Regimens and Drug INFORMATION
Bone Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Brain Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Breast Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Endocrine Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Gastrointestinal Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Gynecologic Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Head and Neck Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Hematologic Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Lung Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Other Cancers | Regimens | |
Prostate Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Rare Cancers | Regimens | |
Renal Cell Carcinoma | Regimens | Drugs |
Skin Cancer | Regimens | Drugs |
Urologic Cancers | Regimens | Drugs |
Cancer Therapy Advisor Articles
- Metastatic Prostate Cancer Responds to Novel Radiation Therapy
- Clinical Applications of Liquid Biopsies in Cancer
- Two-Drug Combination Superior to Sunitinib in Patients With Untreated Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
- Radical Prostatectomy Compared With Watchful Waiting in Localized Prostate Cancer
- Investigational Antiandrogen Drug Delays Metastasis in CRPC
- Patients With CP-CML Deemed Less Likely to Continue Taking Generic Imatinib
- Opinion: Understanding the FDA's Take on Cannabidiol
- High IDO1 Tumor Expression May Predict Poor Overall Survival in Patients With Anal Cancer
- Ambient Benzene Exposure and Risk of Hematologic Malignancies
- Tivozanib Offers Superior Outcomes in Refractory Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma