A George Washington University Medical Center team, led by Dr. Patricia Berg, has found that a new gene, BP1, an isoform previously discovered and cloned by Berg, is expressed in 80% of breast cancer patients in preliminary findings.

Berg, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and team members report that, "Because of these high numbers and our molecular studies, we believe that this gene may offer a useful new early target for breast cancer detection and therapy, and we must now conduct expedited research." Berg has been studying the gene for 16 years, and began breast cancer testing in 1999 when she joined the faculty of GWU.

The findings will be published in the journal Breast Cancer Research. In addition to GWU, the authors of the paper included scientists from Children's National Medical Center, the University of Maryland Medical School, and Howard University College of Medicine.

The GWU/Berg team also stated that, "While the research into BP1 may impact all groups with breast cancer in that there was an overall higher expression rate, the research may prove especially helpful to African Americans, who disproportionately expressed the new gene."

Berg pointed to more than 1.2 million people diagnosed with breast cancer annually, including 205,000 in the U.S., and stated, "We hope that this kind of research can make a real difference in addressing a major disease."

Dr. Allan Goldstein, Chairman of the GWU Medical Center Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, stated, "These findings are the fruits of over fifteen years of research by Dr. Berg. The results are both important and exciting in terms of potential clinical application."

SOURCES:
Breast Cancer Research, June 2003
George Washington University Medical Center (http://www.gwumc.edu)