The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), identified four genes that are linked to tamoxifen resistance and poor prognosis of breast cancer, by comparing results obtained in a new animal model, in human breast cancer cells grown in culture, and in publically available datasets collected from thousands
of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen.
WASHINGTON (September 8, 2016)-- An animal study suggests that resistance to tamoxifen therapy in
some estrogen receptor positive breast cancers may originate from in utero exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals.
In particular, KMT2C / MLL3, which is mutated in about 7 % of
all estrogen receptor positive breast cancers, is a histone methyltransferase that creates the H3K4me1 mark at enhancers.
Excess estrogen is a problem for women predisposed to
estrogen receptor positive breast cancers.
And apples seem to work best against estrogen receptor negative breast cancer, which is much harder to treat than
estrogen receptor positive breast cancer.