EXCITING NEWS – Breast Cancer Cells Turned into Fat Cells

Health Wellness

Over the past year or so, I’ve written a number of articles on breast cancer, covering everything from
statistics, to tips to reduce the chances of developing breast cancer, the genetic link and new
experimental treatments – many that offer promise in the future.

Here is another experimental treatment and one that holds great promise for millions of women
worldwide.

Current treatments involve surgically removing the lump or the entire breast(s) and sometimes
accompanying lymph nodes. This leave many women feeling less than female and can leave
unattractive scars in the place of the breast(s), which in turn lead some women to have breast
reconstruction surgery using implants. Then there are radiation and chemotherapy treatments, both of
which have negative side effects.

What if you were told you had breast cancer and that there was a treatment that would turn those
breast cancer cells into fat cells and that you may be able to avoid surgery or some of the other harsh
treatments?

If that prospect excites you, then check this out:

“Scientists in Switzerland say they've done just that, in a new study in mice. By taking advantage of
the ‘plasticity,’ or adaptability, of certain cancer cells during metastasis, the researchers were able to
coax breast cancer cells in mice into becoming fat cells.”

“The scientists accomplished this using a combination of two drugs, both of which are already
approved for use in humans by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The treatment didn't
convert all of the cancer cells into fat cells, but it did stop the cancer's metastasis, or spread to other
parts of the body, the researchers said.”

“The work is very preliminary, and it's unclear if the findings will apply to people or to other types of
cancers. But because the study used two drugs already approved by the FDA, it ‘may be possible’
that the findings also apply to humans, the researchers wrote in their paper, published today (Jan. 14)
in the journal Cancer Cell.”

“If future studies confirm the new work, the researchers believe that the therapy could be used in
combination with conventional chemotherapy ‘to suppress both primary tumor growth and the
formation of deadly metastases,’ senior study author Gerhard Christofori, a professor at the University
of Basel's Department of Biomedicine in Switzerland, said in a statement.”

Metastases is when cancer cells undergo a change that enables them to break free from the tumor
and travel to other areas of the body, spreading the cancer. When the cancer cells change, they take
on a quality similar to stem cells which is why they can break free from the tumor and spread. This
process is known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

The use of the two drugs together stopped the EMT process in the mice, thus stopping the spread of
cancer. If they do the same thing in humans, then stopping metastases and the addition of
transitioning many of the remaining breast cancer cells into fat cells will help millions of women to
hopefully keep their breasts, femininity and self-image.

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