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Stem Cells in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer stem cells were discovered in 2003 by scientists at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center

In the fight against breast cancer, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that, since 1990, there has been a steady decline in the death rate from breast cancer. Earlier detection and better treatments are bringing hope to women with both early and advanced disease.

The bad news is that nearly 41,000 women die of breast cancer each year in the United States alone. It is still the second-leading cause of deaths from cancer. The survival rate for women with advanced, metastatic breast cancer has not changed significantly for decades. In spite of more effective therapies, many women still experience recurrences of breast cancer after treatment.

We believe that current therapies for advanced breast cancer are limited because they may be targeting the wrong cells within a malignant tumor. These therapies were designed to shrink cancers by killing all the cells in a tumor. We believe therapies could be more effective, and cause fewer side effects, if they were aimed specifically at a small group of cells within the tumor called cancer stem cells.

Breast cancer stem cells were discovered in 2003 by scientists at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center, the first identified in a solid tumor. These scientists found that just a few cancer stem cells are responsible for the growth and spread of breast cancer. Unless the cancer stem cells are destroyed, the tumor is likely to come back and spread malignant cells to other parts of the body, a process called metastasis.

Because cancer stem cells are resistant to traditional chemotherapy and radiation, we need new treatments that can be targeted directly at these deadly cells. U-M Cancer Center scientists are studying breast cancer stem cells to learn more about them and to determine the type of therapy most likely to destroy the cells. We hope to begin a new clinical trial of one of these therapies sometime in 2008. It will be the world's first clinical study to target stem cells in breast cancer.

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This information is part of the U-M Health System. The information presented is not a tool for self diagnosis or a substitute for professional care. © 2008 The Regents of the University of Michigan

Learn more:
In 2003, U-M Cancer Center scientists discovered the fingerprint for breast cancer stem cells. Read the press release.

Stem cell research at the University of Michigan
Stem Cells - Explained and Explored

Other stem cell resources
National Institutes of Health Web site on stem cells

International Society for Stem Cell Research

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