Breast Cancer Study Led By Boise State Biologist Published In Top Cancer Journal

Research conducted at Boise State University and published this month in the journal Cancer Research provides new insights into a mechanism that may enable breast cancer tumors to grow. The study, led by Boise State biology professor Cheryl Jorcyk, could someday lead to the development of new drugs to treat the deadly disease.

Cancer Research is the most frequently cited cancer journal in the world and the second most frequently cited in all of clinical medicine, according to the American Association for Cancer Research.

In laboratory studies, Boise State researchers found that when white blood cells called neutrophils come in contact with breast cancer cells, the neutrophils produce large amounts of a protein, oncostatin M (OSM), that has been shown to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels.

That’s significant, Jorcyk explained, because tumors require a blood supply to increase in size, and the presence of OSM at the tumor site creates the conditions for new blood vessels to develop. The research could eventually help scientists develop drugs that block the ability of OSM to bind to cancer cells, thus stopping the tumor’s ability to grow and spread.

“It’s been well established that neutrophils often infiltrate tumor sites. This study is interesting because it suggests that neutrophils may also play a role in breast cancer cell growth by releasing OSM, ” Jorcyk said. “It’s another step in helping us learn about this very complex disease, and finding ways to treat it.”

The article published in Cancer Research was based on research conducted by Jorcyk’s graduate student Marisa Queen, several other students, a researcher at the Veterans Affairs Regional Medical Center, and Jorcyk, the project’s principal investigator. Jorcyk received a five-year grant of about $390,000 from the IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence, a statewide program funded by the National Institutes of Health, for her studies.

The research builds on Jorcyk’s earlier studies to understand the role OSM plays in the progression of breast cancer. Her previous research showed that the protein works as part of a complex process to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels and also increases the invasive capacity of cancer cells.

In the latest study, Boise State researchers combined breast cancer cells and human neutrophils in the same test-tube culture, then analyzed the biochemical interactions. They discovered that neutrophils that were exposed to the breast cancer cells produced about three times the amount of OSM as neutrophils not combined with the cancer cells. The research also identified the biochemical signal that breast cancer cells release to tell neutrophils to produce and secrete OSM.

Queen, who conducted research under Jorcyk’s direction for her master’s thesis, said it was very exciting to have the study published in a major scientific journal.

“Most of the researchers who get published in Cancer Research already have Ph.Ds and are from large research institutions,” said Queen, who graduated from Boise State in May with a master of science degree in biology. “It was exciting to publish this as a master’s student, and to get it accepted with just a few minor revisions.”

Jorcyk has already begun the next phase of her cancer study, which involves analyzing the role of OSM in tumor progression in mice. The research will allow her to investigate how the biochemical interactions documented in her test tube studies compare with the same biochemical interactions in a living organism.

“Breast cancer is an extremely complex disease, and effective treatments in the future will likely involve individual targeted therapies and multiple drugs,” Jorcyk said. “Each new research study moves us a little closer toward that goal.”

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Contact: Cheryl Jorcyk, Department of Biology, (208) 426-4287, cjorcyk@boisestate.edu

Media Contact: Janelle Brown, Communications, (208) 426-1790, jbrown2@boisestate.edu