BRMS1 has not been identified before, while similar genes showed the same effects in lung cancer. They found that BRMS1 was expressed less as a cell's malignancy increased. Welch estimates between half and two thirds of patients with late stage breast cancer lose copies of chromosome 11. Welch and his team then introduced chromosome 11 into a metastatic breast cell line. While the cells still had the ability to form tumors, their ability to metastasize was greatly reduced.
Women tend to die from breast cancer only if their tumors metastasize.
Welch says the majority of cells within a tumor cannot complete the multistep process of metastasis. For cells to successfully metastasize, they must interact with a variety of host cells and then respond in the appropriate manner. If a cell fails to complete any of the many steps involved, it is nonmetastatic. This latest work is the result of more than four years of research. Funding for this research comes from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Army and the Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Institute at The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.