Breast Cancer Gene

Therapy

Name : Ch.Uha Rekha

I.D Number : 2012510066

Gene Therapy
Definition : Gene therapy is a treatment that
involves altering the genes inside your body's
cells to stop disease.
Genes contain your DNA the code that
controls much of your body's form and
function, from making you grow taller to
regulating your body systems. Genes that
don't work properly can cause disease.
Gene therapy replaces a faulty gene or
adds a new gene in an attempt to cure disease
or improve your body's ability to fight disease.

Gene therapy holds promise for treating

a wide range of diseases, including cancer,
cystic fibrosis, heart disease, diabetes,
hemophilia and AIDS.
In gene therapy, the nucleic acid molecule is
packaged within a "vector", which is used to get the
molecule inside cells within the body.
There are many techniques of gene therapy,
all of them still in experimental stages. The two basic
methods are called in vivo and ex vivo gene therapy.
The in vivo method inserts genetically altered
genes directly into the patient; the ex vivo method
removes tissue from the patient, extracts the cells in
question, and genetically alters them before
returning them to the patient.

About The Disease

Breast Cancer : Breast cancer is a kind
of cancer that develops from breast cells.
Breast cancer usually starts off in the inner
lining of milk ducts or the lobules that
supply them with milk.
Signs of breast cancer may include
a lump in the breast, a change in breast
shape,dimplingof the skin, fluid coming
from the nipple, or a red scaly patch of skin.

Types Of Breast Cancer

A malignant tumor can spread to
other parts of the body. A breast cancer that
started off in the lobules is known aslobular
carcinoma, while one that developed from
the ducts is calledductal carcinoma.
Cancer stem cells have recently
been isolated from several different solid
tumors. In breast cancer, the
CD44+CD24/lowpopulation is considered to
comprise stem-like cells.

Identification of human primary breast

cancer cells :
The purity of the
primary
mammospheres
was verified by
using flow
cytometry and
immunostaining.
We found that no
more than
0.5%of the
primary
mammospheres
were positive for
CD31 or CD45 by
flow cytometry


ReverTra Ace--1 (Toyobo, Osaka, Japan) was
used for semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase
PCR (RT-PCR) with the following primers:

sox2 reverse, 5-GTGCTGGGACATGTGAAGTCT-3;

oct4 forward, 5-CTCCTGAAGCAGAAGAGGATCAC3;
oct4 reverse, 5-CTTCTGGCGCCGGTTACAGAACCA3;
-actin forward, 5-CATGTACGTTGCTATCCAGGC-3;
-actin reverse, 5-CTCCTTAATGTCACGCACGAT-3

Genomic Sequence of Breast

Cancer :

Breast cancer occurs due to changes in the DNA of breast

tissue that cause certain cells to grow unchecked and form
tumors. There are many different types of breast cancer and
each one may have a different treatment and prognosis.
According to a number of in-depth genetic analyses, the
disease has been classified into four sub-types:
1.Luminal A
2.luminal B
3. HER2-positive
4.Basal-like.

Targeted Cancer Therapies

Targeted cancer therapies are drugs or other substances that

block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with specific
MOLECULES("molecular targets") that are involved in the
growth,PROGRESSION, and spread of cancer. Targeted cancer therapies
are sometimes called "molecularly targeted drugs," "molecularly
targeted therapies," "precision medicines," or similar names.

Targeted therapies differ from standardchemotherapyin several ways:

Targeted therapies act on specific molecular targets that are associated
with cancer, whereas most standard chemotherapies act on all rapidly
dividing normal and cancerous cells.
Targeted therapies are deliberately chosen or designed to interact with
their target, whereas many standard chemotherapies were identified
because they kill cells.
Targeted therapies are oftencytostatic(that is, they block tumor
cell proliferation), whereas standard chemotherapy agents are
cytotoxic(that is, they kill tumor cells).

The signs and symptoms of breast cancer :

The first symptoms of breast cancer are

usually an area of thickened tissue in the woman's
breast, or a lump. The majority of lumps are not
cancerous; however, women should get them
checked by a health care professional.
According to the National Health Service, UK,
women who detect any of the following signs or
symptoms should tell their doctor:
1. lump in a breast
2.A pain in the armpits or breast that does not
seem to
be related to the woman's menstrual
period.


Pitting or redness of the skin of the breast; like
the skin of an orange
A rash around (or on) one of the nipples
A swelling (lump) in one of the armpits
An area of thickened tissue in a breast
One of the nipples has a discharge; sometimes
it may contain blood
The nipple changes in appearance; it may
become sunken or inverted
The size or the shape of the breast changes
The nipple-skin or breast-skin may have
started to peel, scale or flake.

The causes of breast cancer

It is hard to say why one person develops the

disease while another does not. We know that some
risk factors can impact on a woman's likelihood of
developing breast cancer.
Getting older- the older a woman gets, the higher is her risk of
developing breast cancer; age is a risk factor. Over 80% of all female breast
cancers occur among women aged 50+ years (after themenopause).

Genetics- women who have a close relative who has/had breast or

ovarian cancerare more likely to develop breast cancer. If two close
family members develop the disease, it does not necessarily mean they
shared the genes that make them more vulnerable, because breast cancer
is a relatively common cancer.
.

The majority of breast cancers are not hereditary


A history of breast cancer- women who have had breast cancer, even non-invasive
cancer, are more likely to develop the disease again, compared to women who have no
history of the disease.

Having had certain types of breast lumps- women who have had some types of benign
(non-cancerous)breast lumpsare more likely to develop cancer later on. Examples include
atypical ductal hyperplasia or lobular carcinoma in situ.

Dense breast tissue- women with more dense breast tissue have a greater chance of
developing breast cancer.

Estrogen exposure- women who started having periods earlier or entered menopause
later than usual have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. This is because their bodies
have been exposed toestrogenfor longer. Estrogen exposure begins when periods start,
and drops dramatically during the menopause.

Obesity- post-menopausal obese and overweight women may have a higher risk of
developing breast cancer. Experts say that there are higher levels of estrogen in obese
menopausal women, which may be the cause of the higher risk.

Height- taller-than-average women have a slightly greater likelihood of developing breast

cancer than shorter-than-average women. Experts are not sure why.

Diagnosing breast cancer

Women are usually diagnosed with breast
cancer after a routine breast cancer
screening, or after detecting certain signs
and symptoms and seeing their doctor about
them.
Breast exam- the physician will check both
the patient's breasts, looking out for lumps
and other possible abnormalities,
X-ray (mammogram)- commonly used for
breast cancer screening. If anything unusual
is found, the doctor may order a diagnostic
mammogram.

2D combined with 3D
mammograms-
3D mammograms, when used in colla
boration with regular 2D mammogra
ms were found to reduce the incid
ence of false positives
, researchers from the University of
Sydney's School of Public Health,
Australia, reported inThe Lancet
Oncology.
Breast ultrasound- this type of scan
may help doctors decide whether a

Biopsy- a sample of tissue from an

apparent abnormality, such as a lump,
is surgically removed and sent to the
lab for analysis. It the cells are found to
be cancerous, the lab will also
determine what type of breast cancer it
is, and the grade of cancer
(aggressiveness)
Breast MRI (magnetic resonance
imaging) scan- a dye is injected into
the patient. This type of scan helps the

Gene therapy for breast cancer

Gene therapy for advanced

breast cancer is anticipated to be a
useful therapeutic approach.
Strategies in ongoing clinical
protocols can be divided into four
groups:
(1) suppression of oncogenes or
transfer of tumor-suppressor genes;
(2) enhancement of immunological
response;
(3) transfer of suicide genes;

Micrograph showing a lymph node

invaded by ductal breast
carcinoma, with extension of the
tumour beyond the lymph node.

Thank You