Estrogen may aid the growth of breast cancer cells

By ME Online

Estrogen has long been known to aid the growth of breast cancer cells. Professor of Biochemistry, David Shapiro and doctoral student Xingo Jiang recently discovered that estrogen can also block immune cells’ ability to eliminate tumors.

Shapiro says their discovery will open doors for new treatment discoveries. “It will not have an immediate effect on breast cancer therapy and treatment but it will provide a new long term target that would provide a useful way both to identify new anti-cancer drugs that will target this particular effect of estrogen and this protein itself represents an attractive thertaputic target for the future.”

Shapiro says the next step is to identify how important of a role estrogen plays, and how many different kinds of cancers it affects. The finding comes after three years of research.