According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 185,000 women in the U.S. were diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 died as a result of the disease in 2005.  It is difficult to predict how the disease will progress in a given patient.  Identifying individuals with poor prognosis may enable more informed treatment decisions, but few markers of breast cancer progression are available.  

Type I phosphatidylinositol phosphate kinases (PIPKIs) may provide additional cancer biomarkers.  In mammals, phosphatidylinositol-based signaling pathways play crucial roles in the regulation of cell processes at the plasma membrane and in the nucleus. At least three isoforms of PIPKI exist, and these isoforms are expressed at different times and locations.  One of the isoforms, PIPKIgamma, binds E-cadherin, a known breast cancer biomarker, and controls its function.  

UW-Madison researchers have identified novel variants of PIPKIgamma that could be used to monitor breast cancer progression and determine prognosis.  The variants correlate with key markers of breast cancer progression, including the loss of E-cadherin and increased HER1 or HER2 expression.

File Number: P07035US