Gene May Help Spur Breast Cancer's Spread

Multiple copies of a gene called uPAR are associated with the spread of early-stage breast cancer, U.S. researchers report.

The gene offers a promising target for drugs to slow or halt the progression of the disease, says a team from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. It could also serve as a screening tool for determining which kinds of drugs a breast cancer patient will respond to, the researchers said.

The study was published in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.