Physicians currently have no tools to help them detect which breast cancer patients will suffer metastasis to the bone, a process that occurs in 15-20% of cases. A study led by ICREA researcher Roger Gomis at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and published today in JNCI has uncovered a gene that allows breast cancer cells to invade bones and create new tumours, or to metastasize. This discovery has been patented and transferred to Inbiomotion, a spin off from the IRB Barcelona and ICREA, founded at the end of 2010. Inbiomotion, led by the venture investor Ysios Capital, has developed the technology necessary to validate the marker in clinical trials, which are already underway.
