Breast cancer already created during puberty

Breast cancer may have been created during puberty
According to the German Cancer Aid, around 75,000 women suffer from breast cancer each year in Germany. About 17,000 patients die every year. German researchers have now succeeded in breeding mammary gland tissue in the Petri dish. The scientists hope to better understand the development of tumors in the future.

Researchers in Munich breed breast tissue
According to German Cancer Aid, around 75,000 women worldwide contract breast cancer every year. About 17,000 patients die every year. Many scientists around the world are working on more detailed research on the disease - sometimes with great success. Recently, experts from the University of Freiburg and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have announced that they have developed an approach that could detect breast cancer in the urine in the future. Now, researchers from the Helmholtz Center and the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich report in the journal "Development" that they have managed to breed mammary gland tissue in the Petri dish. The news agency dpa reports that the scientists hope to be able to closely monitor the development of cancer and test new drugs in the future.

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Turnouts for breast cancer may well be laid during puberty
The researchers said that initial observations on the cultured three-dimensional tissue suggest that the course may be set for later breast cancer already at puberty. They hope to be able to test substances against breast cancer in the Petri dish in the future. The research group of medical practitioner Christina Scheel has reported that breast cells from different breast reduction women are transfused into a transparent gel. The cells then developed as in a female breast during puberty. "The stem cells are able to reproduce complex glandular structures with various types of cells," Scheel told dpa. Milk ducts formed in the gel - as in the real breast - and grape-like structures at the end. Among other things, it was shown that the elasticity of the breast influences the growth of the cells. Thus, cell growth was stronger in harder gel than in elastic gel.

Opportunity for the development of new drugs
Other stem cell researchers are placing high hopes in the study. The head of stem cells and cancer department at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Andreas Trumpp, said that it was a unique system for replicating mammary gland tissue three-dimensionally in the Petri dish. However, he also warned against premature euphoria. The experiment with cancer cells has not yet been completed. If this succeeds, it could be a great opportunity for the development of new drugs. "Then the culture system could be used to search for new substances that block the growth and migration of cancer cells."

Breast cancer very aggressive in young women
Among the tens of thousands of women who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer each year are many younger patients. Especially with them the cancer can be very aggressive. "The aggressive behavior of breast cancer is not yet understood in many aspects," said Scheel. "It is very possible that precursor forms of cancer are already being applied to young women during puberty." The growth of cells in cancer is similar to that in puberty - just uncontrolled. "The main developmental phase of the breast is during puberty," explained Scheel. "The mammary gland, in its development, grows like an invasive cancer, but controls the adipose tissue. This is the process that we can now adjust. "The experiment first shows how the normal breast works. However, this is the prerequisite for a better understanding of the processes involved in illness. "If you want to repair a car, you first have to understand how a car works." The researchers now want to bring cancer cells into the gel - and see if and how cancer develops. (Ad)

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