International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

A new study has pinpointed the ways in which aggressive breast cancers grow.

The research, conducted by scientists from the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, could lead to new treatments and prevention strategies.

Aggressive tumours tend to arise in two types of glandular tissue in the breast, the outer basal cells and inner luminal cells.

Previously, it was thought they only came from the basal cells, and that milder cancers arose from the luminal ones.

Study leader Dr Matt Smalley, from the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: "These results represent a major advance in our understanding of breast cancer. It means we can now look very closely at where the disease forms and which genes are involved in that process.

"This knowledge will greatly improve the chance of finding effective new targeted treatments for breast cancer patients in the future."

In the UK, more than three-quarters of women diagnosed with breast cancer now survive for at least ten years, while two out of three live 20 years beyond diagnosis, according to Cancer Research UK.

Posted by Martine Ward