A Michigan State University researcher’s new model for studying breast cancer could help scientists better understand why and where cancer metastasizes.

Professor Eran Andrechek  who teaches in the MSU Department of Physiology, has been researching the E2F5 gene, of which little is known, and its role in the development of breast cancer. Based on findings from Andrechek’s lab, the loss of E2F5 results in altered regulation of Cyclin D1, a protein linked to metastatic breast tumors after long latency.

The study also demonstrates that the removal of E2F5 in the mammary gland leads to tumor formation. As scientists better understand how genes impact breast cancer, they could also learn why cancers metastasize and where cancers are likely to spread.