Katharina Buczek
Who would have thought that sense of smell could be a factor in the spread of breast cancer?
Well, a new study conducted by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital found that the olfactory receptor gene is not only responsible for taking in odors– it could also help breast cancer spread to the brain, lungs, and bones.
Second to lung cancer, breast cancer is the most diagnosed form of cancer. And, unfortunately, the leading cause of death among patients is the spread of breast cancer to the brain.
This is why the MGH team worked to find an actionable link for this spread.
Litia Carvalho, the study’s corresponding author, discussed how smell had been studied in relation to other cancers– just not breast cancer.
“The olfactory receptor family of genes is known to be over-expressed in a variety of cancers– including melanoma, prostate, liver, and lung. Although, its role in breast cancer has been understudied in the past,” Carvalho said.
In studying animal models, the team found that the protein-coding gene OR5B21 primes the metastasizing of breast cancer cells.
This priming is possible via a signaling pathway that activates epithelial to mesenchymal transition, also known as EMT.
EMT is responsible for beginning various biochemical changes in olfactory cells, including migration to different organs such as the brain.
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