I’m sure most of you have heard of stem cells and how researchers are trying to study them to cure a variety of diseases.  Many of you may not know that stem cells were identified in the breast in 2003 and researchers are trying to determine their role in breast cancer development.

A few months ago, a group of researchers published their laboratory data on breast cancer cell lines that over-expressed HER2.  They found that in these cell lines, breast cancer stem cells were increased 4-5 times — and when introduced into a mouse model, the cells invaded the tissue like an invasive carcinoma. They also showed that Herceptin, a drug that is used to treat HER2 over-expressed tumors, reduced the percentage of breast cancer stem cells by 80%!

This is interesting research that could very well play a role in determining how breast stem cells are involved in the development of breast cancer and how we can effectively treat it.

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