Protein that protects tumour cells associated with improved survival in some breast cancer patients, study finds

A family of proteins that help cancer cells survive and spread around the body may be associated with improved prognosis for some women receiving treatment for breast cancer, research has shown.

The study, led by academics at The University of Nottingham and published online by the academic journal Oncotarget, discovered that when high levels of the protein calpain were detected in large primary breast tumours from patients given chemotherapy treatment to shrink their tumour before surgery, these patients were more likely to survive.

The work, which was funded by the breast cancer research charity Breast Cancer Now, was conducted in the laboratory of Professor Stewart Martin, in the University’s Translational and Radiation Biology Research group.