Bionovo Elucidates Mechanism of Breast Cancer Control by Estrogen Rec...( - Results Presented at Endocrin...),Health

- Results Presented at Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting -

SAN FRANCISCO and EMERYVILLE, Calif., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bionovo, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNVI) today announced results on the role of estrogen receptor beta in breast cancer growth regulation. The data, which were presented at the Endocrine Society 90th Annual Meeting, showed that in breast cancer cells the activation of GADD45 gene via the estrogen receptor beta results in growth arrest.

"Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women, and the most fatal form of cancer in younger women," said Dr. Dale Leitman, from the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. "It has been demonstrated that estrogens increase the risk of breast cancer while non-selective SERMs reduce that risk. This study shows that estrogen receptor beta stops the growth of breast cancer cells by increasing GADD45. The activation of this gene blocks the activation of important genes that stimulate the growth of cancer cells. This pathway might be an important target for drugs that selectively regulate estrogen receptor beta."

The study was conducted by investigators at The Center for Reproductive Science in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco in collaboration with scientists at Bionovo.

"Understanding how estrogen receptor beta controls breast cancer cells growth is very important for future development of safe therapies for a variety of oncology and gynecological conditions," said Isaac Cohen, Bionovo's chairman and chief executive officer. "This discovery further demonstrates the potential of Bionovo's pipeline of sele
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