Advances in the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer begin in laboratories. Here’s a peek into one Upstate lab that received a grant this year from the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund:
How do genes affect drugs that fight cancer?
A gene called ECRG2 was recently identified as a tumor suppressor, and preliminary studies at Upstate reveal that it can “strongly inhibit” breast tumor cell growth, says professor of pharmacology, Ying Huang, MD, PhD.
She says ECRG2 also appears to play a role in the development of resistance to multiple anticancer drugs commonly used to treat breast cancer. Her project focuses on understanding how this happens.
