Role of Tumor Metastases Suppressor Gene, Drg-1, in Breast Cancer

摘要

Once breast cancer is diagnosed, the most critical question is whether the disease is localized or has it already metastasized to other organs. However, the molecular basis of tumor metastasis is poorly understood as yet. The major goal of this project was to elucidate the function of the tumor metastasis suppressor gene, Drg-1/NDRG1. Toward this goal, we have set three specific aims; (i) to clarify the role of the NDRG1 gene in the progression of breast cancer(Task 1), (ii) to clarify the control mechanism of the NDRG1 gene by PTN (Task 2), and (iii) to evaluate diagnostic/prognostic value of NDRG1 in breast cancer (Task 3). We have successfully accomplished Task 1 and Task 3. Task 1 especially generated exciting data that provide several promising future directions to further study the function of NDRG1. Task 2 is still ongoing and we plan to continue our effort on this task even after completion of this grant.