Research reveals 10 subtypes of breast cancers

An international research team is reporting on the largest effort to date to tease out the characteristics of breast cancer tumours. The work, led by scientists at the B.C. Cancer Agency in Vancouver and Cambridge University in Britain, has found there are at least 10 subtypes of breast cancers. Up till now medicine has recognized about five subtypes of the disease. Studying the variation in tumours is important, because it helps researchers figure out why some women respond to existing breast cancer therapies while others do not. Senior author Dr. Samuel Aparicio of the B.C. Cancer Agency says the work also highlights types of breast cancers for which new treatments must be developed. The study is being published in the journal Nature.