<\/a>A\u00a0major breakthrough in the hunt for a breast cancer cure has been made after scientists discovered how to stop the disease spreading.
\nThey have identified the enzyme that promotes the spread \u2013 changing the tumour from a single, more treatable one, to a number of separate cancers threatening other organs.
\nIf drugs can be created to block the\u00a0enzyme, thousands of\u00a0lives could be saved every year.
\nArlene Wilkie, director of research at Breast Cancer Campaign, said: \u201cAlthough we can treat breast cancer that has spread, we cannot cure it.
\n\u201cThis laboratory research shows great promise and we look forward to seeing how it translates into patients.\u201d
\nCancer can often be treated and even cured if caught at an early stage.
\nBut there is no treatment or way to prevent the spreading \u2013 or \u201cmetastasis\u201d \u2013 of cancer in the later stages.
\nAccording to lead researcher, Dr Janine Erler, from the Institute of Cancer Research, more than 90 per cent of cancer deaths are because the disease has spread to other organs.
\nSecondary tumours are notoriously hard to treat. Breast cancers are known to spread to lymph nodes, the bones and the lungs.
\nOnce metastases are detected in a breast cancer patient, the average survival is less than two years.
\nIn her study, published in the journal Cancer Research, Dr Erler found that the enzyme lysyl oxidase-like 2 \u2013 or LOXL2 \u2013 is needed for tumour cells to escape from the breast and invade surrounding tissue.
\nDr Erler said: \u201cAround 12,000 women die from breast cancer in the UK each year, most because their cancer has spread to other parts of their body.
\n\u201cOur study shows that inhibiting the action of LOXL2 can significantly reduce the spread of breast cancer, suggesting that drugs which block this enzyme may be effective in preventing patients\u2019 cancer from spreading.\u201d
\nLOXL2 has also been linked to the progression of colon and oesophageal cancer.
\nThe UK has the 11th-highest breast cancer rate in the world, with 47,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
\nRecent studies showed that British women have a one in eight chance of getting the disease.<\/p>\n

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Via: Daily Express<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Image: Graeme Weatherston\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0major breakthrough in the hunt for a breast cancer cure has been made after scientists discovered how to stop the disease spreading. They have identified the enzyme that promotes the spread \u2013 changing the tumour from a single, more treatable one, to a number of separate cancers threatening other organs. If drugs can be created … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[2120,2118,2122,2119,2121],"yoast_head":"\n