The discovery of a mammary gland stem cell could allow scientists to create breast cancer in the laboratory, understand why breast cancer recurs in treated women, and even grow replacement breast tissue.
Researchers believe that recurring breast cancer could be caused by these mammary gland stem cells being transformed into a “tumor factory” through a combination of genetic errors and possible external factors.
The current predominant treatment for breast cancer is chemotherapy, which works by targeting cells that are dividing rapidly: the typical behavior of cancer cells. But even if the majority of breast cancer cells are removed through chemotherapy, the slow-dividing nature of these cancerous stem cells (the “tumor factory”) means they may survive months or years after chemotherapy. The new findings have shed light on the puzzling dilemma of why some women whose breast cancer cells have seemingly been eliminated through chemotherapy sometimes experience a recurrence of their cancer.
But before we all joyfully throw our bras in the air, a little factor I haven’t mentioned is that the researchers are talking about mice. That’s right, the mammary stem cells have, as yet, only been found in mice boobs. Further research on excised human breast tumors is now underway to see if the findings from the mouse research can be replicated in human tissue.
Astonishingly, in addition to isolating the mammary stem cell and identifying the possibility of a rogue stem cell being responsible for recurring breast cancer, researchers have also been able to “grow” a mouse breast, including the branched ducts and structures of the epithelial tissue in a milk-producing breast, after the original breast tissue was removed.
Now, when I first read about how they had grown new breasts on a mouse, I immediately got a mental image of the little mouse from the University of Massachusetts growing a human ear on its back. But in place of the ear was a pair of human breasts. While that in itself would be great, (I mean, who doesn’t want to see more boobs?) the re-growing of human breasts (probably not on the back of a mouse) is a long way off.
Dr Jane Visvader, the Australian scientist heading up the research team, said that re-growing human breast tissue was a “remote future possibility”, because connective tissue and fat would also have to be grown to have a true reconstruction. Of more concern is that the conditions surrounding the growing of new breast tissue could also promote new tumor growth.
But hey, wouldn’t that be great? Re-growing breast tissue would be fantastic for breast cancer patients, who could theoretically re-grow their own breasts instead of having breast implants.
And the infinite ways this medical breakthrough could be purloined for cosmetic applications boggles the mind. It got me thinking of other scientific developments designed for medical purposes that have taken on a decidedly cosmetic angle. And of course the biggie in that category is Botox.
Botox (to sound clever you can refer to it by its real name, botulinum toxin type A) was first medically used in humans to treat involuntary muscle tremors and spasms, from eye twitching right through to cerebral palsy. It was during the use of Botox to treat eye spasms that Canadian ophthalmologist Jean Carruthers noticed the effect it had on frown lines. She shared her findings with her dermatologist husband, and the rest is history. First used in 1968 to treat eye twitches, Botox as a cosmetic enhancement is now part of our everyday lives.
So, how about those breasts? Breast augmentation surgery is second only to liposuction in popularity, with nearly 350,000 American women going under the knife in 2004 for the procedure. Imagine what it would mean if you literally could “grow your own”. Those fake-looking porn star/stripper implants would remain the domain of, well, porn stars and strippers, and silicon and saline implants would be a thing of the past. Maybe nature gave you plums when you really wanted cantaloupes (that’d be me), maybe breastfeeding babies has left the girls looking a little deflated (me again!), whatever the reason, imagine how many women would alter their breasts if the available options included one that didn’t involve the insertion of foreign objects under your skin.
Maybe this will put a rocket under the whole field of stem cell research. Sure, stem cell research was important when we thought it would help people re-grow their spinal cords and walk again, but now with the promise of “hooters for all”, you just watch how fast that legislation gets passed.
All joking aside, it’s an exciting, incredible and (sometimes) scary world we’re living in, where the actual building blocks of life can be pulled apart and customized in such a way. A world where, in our lifetimes, we will see the eradication of many of the diseases we now consider fatal. We’ll be able to form and reform our own genetic material in any way we want, and we’ll be able to order our boobs to size. Hmm, I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll stick with my old-fashioned external boob job: my push up bra and silicone chicken fillets!
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