The researchers then probed deeper into the genes of aggressive tumors grown in mice to confirm an abundance of metadherin. And researchers from the cancer institute went a step further, examining the troublesome tumors of patients to confirm metadherin was again at work.

The collaborative research found not only that the gene is overrepresented in 30 to 40 percent of all breast cancer patients. It went on to identify the role metadherin plays, allowing tumor cells to stick tightly to blood vessels and travel to distant organs.


After researchers found metadherin made tumors more resistant to powerful chemotherapy drugs used to wipe out the deadly cells, they also returned to the lab and genetically altered the tumors by eliminating the gene. That, in turn, made chemotherapy more effective at attacking the tumor, Kang said.

Park, however, said as encouraging as that finding would appear to be, it is still a long way from proving that doing the same thing in humans would provide similar results. Noting preliminary diagnostic screenings for multiple genes are currently being tested in cancer patients, he said he is skeptical one gene will ever prove to be so instrumental in the spread of cancer, providing a "magic bullet" for attacking the disease.

"I hope for the sake of everyone this turns out to be an effective therapeutic target, but you need to have the right studies to figure this out," he said. "I think time will tell."

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