Dr Seyed Mehdi Jafarnejad and his team are studying how changes in important processes in healthy breast cells might lead to breast cancer. By studying both men and women, this research aims to uncover differences in how breast cancer develops. The results could help improve how we prevent, detect and treat breast cancer.
In this section
What's the challenge?
Breast cancer is much more common in women than men, largely due to hormonal differences and the greater number of breast cells in women. If we know what causes breast cancer in both men and women, we can develop more effective treatments for everyone.
We’re exploring how the protein ZFP36L1 helps breast cells stay healthy and why its reduction might lead to cancer in men and women. Understanding this could open the door to new ways to prevent breast cancer or stop it from growing.
Dr Seyed Mehdi Jafarnejad
Lead researcher
What’s the science behind this project?
We know that our genetic material, or DNA, can influence our risk of breast cancer. And some DNA changes can make healthy cells more likely to become cancer.
Mehdi and his colleagues’ earlier work identified a location on DNA that, when changed, is linked to higher risk of breast cancer. And it seems to have a larger effect in men than in women.
Mehdi and his colleagues found that this DNA change reduced the level of a protein called ZFP36L1 in healthy breast cells. This can increase the risk of the cells becoming cancer. And people with lower levels of ZFP36L1 in their breast tumours often can have poorer prognosis.
But the scientists still don’t fully understand how this DNA change affects the ZFP36L1 protein or why it increases breast cancer risk. The team want to understand more about it, including why it affects the risk of breast cancer in men more, despite men having an overall lower risk of breast cancer.
What is the ZFP36L1 protein?
ZFP36L1 is a protein that helps switch other genes on or off. This helps cells control which proteins to make and when. Cells need this control to stay healthy. If there’s not enough ZFP36L1, this control system can break down, and cells may become cancer.
So the researchers want to:
- Identify which other genes ZFP36L1 controls in healthy breast cells and breast cancer cells in both men and women
- Study how losing ZFP36L1 affects breast cells, including their ability to grow and change into cancer
- Study breast tumour samples taken from the Breast Cancer Now Male Breast Cancer Study and the Breast Cancer Now Generations Study to explore the role of ZFP36L1 in breast cancer in men and women
What difference will this project make?
By understanding how ZFP36L1 impacts breast cells, this research could reveal new ways to prevent or treat breast cancer. The findings could also lead to new ways to identify people at higher risk of breast cancer, allowing for earlier detection and more personalised care. And this work may also uncover differences in how breast cancer develops in men and women, helping create tailored prevention and treatment strategies.
How many people could this project help?
55,000 women and 400 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK. This research has the potential to help them by improving detection and developing better and more personalised treatments.
Support our research
Please consider making a donation today to help us continue to fund life saving breast cancer research.