Why does Breast Cancer Spread?

Breast cancercan spread to any part of your body through the blood and lymphatic system. The metastasis of breast cancer cells
is what makes the disease very dangerous. Metastatis means the cancer cells have traveled from the place of origin, i.e. the breast, to other parts of the body.

When the cancer cells travel from the breast to the underarm lymph nodes, it is still considered to be early stages of breast cancer and it has a high potential to be completely cured. With surgery and treatment there is a very high chance that all the disease can be completely eradicated from the body.
When the cancer cells travel beyond the lymph nodes to other distant parts of the body, the patient is said to have distant metastasis. The bones, lungs and liver are the most commonly affected places in the body that breast Cancer cells spread to. Though treatment is available for breast cancer and for metastasic breast cancer, once the cancer has traveled beyond the breast and underarm lymph nodules, it can no longer be totally cured.

Scientists have recently discovered a molecule that could be the main reason behind the spreading of breast cancer cells to different parts of the body. The molecule known as Brk is found in almost 60% of breast cancers and they accelerate the growth of the tumor cells, encouraging metastasis to other parts of the body.

The study was conducted on breast cancer patients who had extremely poor responses to the treatments. The Brk molecule was found in very high concentration in these patients, which means that not only does it cause the cancer to grow more aggressively; it also encourages its rapid spread to other parts of the body.

The study also came out with another crucial finding. The tumor cells died when the Brk molecule was inhibited, but the cancer cells re-emerged when the molecule was introduced again. This points to a significant level of involvement that the Brk molecule has in encouraging the breast cancer cells to survive, grow and spread.

Scientists are currently studying how exactly the Brk molecule promotes the growth of breast cancer cells so that they can develop ways to prevent that from happening. The findings are quote encouraging and shed new light on the age old battle of mankind against cancer.