Recent research identified a gene known as metadherin gene which (MTDH) plays a role in both cancer metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy.

Researchers at Princeton University and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey reached these findings after three years of work, using an approach that combines the emerging science of integrative genomics with the classical methods of clinical research and laboratory experiments.

The researchers found an area of human chromosome 8 called 8q22 is repeated multiple times in the genomes of potentially lethal breast tumors after re-analyzing clinical breast cancer databases and tumor samples collected from patients. The researchers discovered that among a handful of genes in the 8q22 region, metadherin, also known as MTDH, is responsible for the aggressive behavior of some tumors. The study indicated that tumors which over-express MTDH are more likely to spread to the lungs, other vital organs and bones and more resistant to some chemotherapy agents also.

Senior study author Dr. Yibin Kang of Princeton University's Department of Molecular Biology said, “By analyzing 250 breast tumor samples from patients, we found that this gene is amplified and over-expressed in over 30 to 40 percent of breast cancer cases. This indicates that new drugs against metadherin may potentially benefit a large population of breast cancer patients.”