Treating breast tumors with two cancer drugs simultaneously may prevent endocrine resistance by attacking the disease along two separate gene pathways, scientists at the University of Illinois found in a new study.

The two drugs used in the study, selinexor and 4-OHT, caused the cancer cells to die and tumors to regress for prolonged periods, said food science and human nutrition professor Zeynep Madak-Erdogan (ONC-PM), the principal investigator on the study.

Scientists at the University of Illinois have found that free fatty acids in the blood appear to boost proliferation and growth of breast cancer cells. The finding could help explain obese women’s elevated risk of developing breast cancer after menopause.

Neighborhood characteristics such as racial composition and poverty rates are associated with increased risks of late-stage breast cancer diagnoses and higher mortality rates among urban black women, a new analysis of recent breast cancer research shows.

High cholesterol levels have been associated with breast cancer spreading to other sites in the body, but doctors and researchers don't know the cause for the link. A new study by University of Illinois researchers found that the culprit is a byproduct of cholesterol metabolism that acts on specific immune cells so that they facilitate the cancer's spread instead of stopping it.

Mary-Claire King, Professor of Genome Sciences and of Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine, will speak as part of the IGB Distinguished Public Lecture series on 4:00 p.m. on April 17, 2017 at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center.