Male sex hormones 'drive breast cancer'
US scientists say they have found a new target to beat breast cancer - male sex hormones, or androgens.
The University of Colorado team discovered that many breast cancers possess androgen receptors on their surface, and that male hormones like testosterone fuel the tumour's growth.
Drugs to block these receptors could offer another way to fight the disease, a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research heard.
They plan clinical trials to test this.
Dr Jennifer Richer and colleagues say more than three-quarters of all breast cancers possess androgen receptors and therefore might benefit from anti-androgen therapy.
Author:
10 April 2013