Metastatic breast tumors break down bone

Abstract

Cancer Most breast cancer cells activate the breakdown of bone to promote metastases. Wang et al. found that the ABL kinases enhanced the ability of breast cancer cells to invade and break down bone in mice. In breast cancer cells, the ABL kinases activated pathways that triggered the transcription of genes encoding factors that activate osteoclasts (cells that break down bone) and those that enhanced the survival of breast cancer cells in the bone micro-environment. An ABL-specific inhibitor decreased bone metastasis in mice. Sci. Signal. 9 , ra12 (2016).