Tyler, Texas (KYTX) -- A new breakthrough could change the way breast cancer is treated.
The study by the National Genome Project and National Cancer Institute is the biggest undertaking of its kind that looks at the genetic makeup of breast cancer tumors.
Scientists have identified four main types of breast cancer. "What they found is that among those four different kinds of breast cancer, there are different genetic mutations," Dr. Edward Sauter, a neurological surgeon at U-T Health Sciences Center at Tyler, said.
An interesting fact emerged from one type commonly known at "Triple Negative" breast cancer.
"We really don't have many treatments for it, and we used to give people non-specific chemotherapy. Now we know it looks a lot like ovarian cancer," Sauter said.
The full implications of the findings are still being researched, but it could mean different treatments in the future.
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