Bone drug may prevent breast cancer

Professor Geoff Lindeman, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, said they found the drug denosumab, which is used to treat osteoporosis or breast cancer that has spread to the bone, could be “repurposed” for BRCA1 patients.

Australian researchers have just found that an already existing medicine could show great promise in preventing breast cancer, especially for highly vulnerable women.

Women with faults in the BRCA1 gene are at a higher risk of breast and ovarian cancers.

‘Current cancer prevention strategies for these women include surgical removal of the breasts and/or ovaries, which can have serious impacts on people’s lives.

But in this latest study, Prof.

Kylie Gellie, a BRCA1 carrier and mother of three children who underwent a bilateral mastectomy in 2014, told AAP she would have delayed her surgery had an alternative treatment been available.

However, recent genomic analysis has revealed that germline or somatic inactivating mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, or other genes involved in the homologous recombination (HR) pathway of DNA fix collectively occur in as much as 20%-25% of advanced prostate cancers.

Melbourne researchers have discovered a drug used to treat osteoporosis can stop the growth of cancer cells in women with the BRCA-1 gene.

“These cells proliferated rapidly and were susceptible to damage to their DNA – both factors that help them transition toward cancer”, she said.

The drug, Denosumab, is now used to treat osteoporosis and is yet to be tested in human clinical trials. Scientists found that denosumab observed in the sample tissue could actually “switch off” the growth of the cells before they develop to cancer. What is more, the drug halted breast cancer development in a BRCA1-deficient mouse model.

Public awareness around breast cancer has increased. “We were excited to discover that these pre-cancerous cells could be identified by a marker protein called RANK”, Emma Nolan, a PhD student at the institute, said.

The use of Denosumab is now under clinical trial.

The BRCA-1 gene expresses a protein called rank, that leads to cancer formation.

Researcher Linda Nolan, of The University of Melbourne said they had identified breast cells more likely to become cancerous – which the drug stopped becoming deadly.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for Vivian Gubb.

By the time the 29-year-old was diagnosed, there was a risk the cancer was invading her chest wall, meaning it had to be quickly removed before she faced the threat of stage 4 cancer.

The global study will involve at least 1500 women who carry the BRCA-1 gene, and may take five to 10 years to yield results, but for Ms Gellie it will be worth the wait.

“In all honesty, it was a blessing in disguise because we had no idea that it was in the family”, said Ms Gubb, who has two other sisters.