Lobular breast cancer accounts for between 10 and 15 per cent of all breast cancer cases and is very difficult to treat. At present, lobular tumours are treated with hormone-blocking drugs but the cancer returns in about 30 per cent of women.

Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research, in London, found extra genes in lobular breast cancer cells. Half the cancers carried extra copies of the gene FGFR1, which is responsible for a protein of the same name and is involved in promoting cell division. An excess of FGFR1 sends this process out of control. The findings suggest that blocking FGFR1 activity may slow, stop or reverse tumour growth.

The researchers tested this in the laboratory using cells that overexpress FGFR1, mimicking cancerous tissue. Two different techniques were tried: RNA interference, which can switch off FGFR1, and a compound that blocks the protein directly. Both techniques either slowed or stopped the growth of the cells. Jorge Reis-Filho, who led the study, said: “The goal is to use this information to design a drug tailored for treating this type of breast cancer.”

The first patients could receive such a drug in clinical trials within two years, scientists at the institute said. The results are published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

Send health questions to Dr Tom Stuttaford

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