Higher Activity of EZH2 Linked with Poor Breast Cancer Prognosis

Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago have found a protein that can help doctors decide if the contracted breast cancer is fatal. Predicting breast cancer prognosis could help thousands of women avoid painful treatment.

Breast cancer screening has helped diagnose many women and given them a chance to win against the cancer. About 70,000 women receive breast cancer treatment every year despite the tumors being less life-threatening.

Many researchers are looking for potential biomarkers for breast cancer that can show whether a person will develop a full-blown breast cancer. Previous research has shown that a lower level of protein p27 in tumor cells was associated with poor prognosis of breast cancer. Bromodomain protein has also been associated with breast cancer spreading to other parts of the body.

Over-expression of EZH2 gene can promote cancer as it prevents the activity of genes that block the activity of tumors. According to the latest research, activity of 1,200 genes directly controlled by the enzyme EZH2 is associated with the aggressiveness of the cancer.

In the research, silencing the activity of enzyme EZH2 led to increase in activity of genes controlled by EZH2, which further led to reduction in the deadly type of cancer. The research team blocked the activity of the enzyme EZH2 with technique called RNA inhibition.

"The analysis pipeline that we developed will be useful for stratification of breast cancer patients. That stratification will enable clinicians to accurately predict breast cancer progression. The level of expression of a subgroup of EZH2-bound genes could have further predictive value, indicating, for example, that a specific treatment regime is needed," said Elizaveta V. Benevolenskaya of the University of Illinois at Chicago, a researcher on the study, according to a news release.

Researchers found that higher activity of EZH2 was also associated with poor prognosis of prostate, endometrial, and melanoma tumors. According to Benevolenskaya, small molecules that inhibit the activity of EZH2 can be developed into cheap and effective medication for breast cancer.

The study is published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology.