Case researchers discover gene contributing to cancer development, work to find counter-acting drug

CLEVELAND - A gene that transforms normal cells into cells that behave like cancer has been identified at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine opening a door for researchers to find a cure for cancer.

Cancer researchers at Case Western used a gene identification method to identify another gene, this one named FAM83B, that contributes to cancer development.

Research team leader Dr. Mark Jackson said using a breast cancer model, the researchers discovered that when gene FAM83B is overproduced in the body, “it transformed the normal cells, causing them to behave like breast cancer.”

The discovery gives researchers an opportunity to work toward developing a drug that will eliminate cancer and the functioning of gene FAM83B, according to a Case Western representative.

So far, only one other breast cancer-developing gene has been identified in the last six years.

Funding for the research came from the Case Comprehensive Care Center, United States National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and the American Cancer Society.