This scientific work, which was published in the specialist journal “Genome Medicine”, focuses in particular on women with inherited gene mutations.
The discovery of the drug’s effectiveness was preceded by research showing that women with a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have an increased risk of developing aggressive breast cancer. In these, the progesterone and estrogen levels are increased during the menstrual cycle, according to study leader Martin Widschwendter, Professor for Cancer Prevention and Screening at the University of Innsbruck, in a press release.
According to Widschwendter, it was therefore obvious to specifically influence the progesterone level: “Progesterone leads to increased division of so-called progenitor cells in the breast tissue and makes them age faster.” An increased proportion of these often aged and divided progenitor cells, in turn, significantly increases the risk of developing breast cancer,” says the oncologist.
The results of the drug’s effectiveness were recorded by epigenetic monitoring. This method, which was developed by Widschwendter and scientists around him, can be used to determine the proportion of frequently divided progenitor cells and thus estimate the risk of breast cancer.
Source: Nachrichten
