SCIENCE BRIEFING
From Times Staff And Wire Reports
Three genes in mice may help explain how breast cancer cells overcome a natural barrier to get into the brain, scientists said Wednesday.
Two of the genes, COX2 and HB-EGF, have already been found to help cancer spread to the lungs, the team reported in the journal Nature.
The third -- ST6GALNAC5 -- appears to make the outer coat of cancer cells sticky, enabling them to linger in tiny blood vessels in the brain long enough to seep through and enter brain tissue.
