Mammastatin and Breast Cancer

Mammastatin was first described as a tissue-specific growth-inhibitory protein in the journal Science by the discovering cancer research scientists at the University of Michigan Cancer Center. Mammastatin was first isolated from normal human mammary cells grown in laboratory tissue culture. The protein was identified in tissue sections within the epithelial cells lining the lumen of the mammary duct. The protein is secreted into the blood stream and can be detected by a simple blood test in human serum. 

Breast cancer cell growth is inhibited in cell culture when mammastatin is applied. This inhibition is specific to breast cancer cell lines. Most women treated under Compassionate Use with an early therapeutic preparation of Mammastatin showed improvement with their breast cancer, including reduction of bone metastases and prolonged life.

 The Mammastatin Serum Assay   

The Mammastatin Serum Assay (MSA) measures a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. It is a simple blood test that detects and measures the amounts of Mammastatin in blood serum. The MSA has been studied as a means to provide early detection of women with breast cancer who have no symptoms and are undiagnosed, and to identify women who are at increased risk of developing breast cancer before cancer develops when conventional diagnostic tests are ineffective.

In clinical studies conducted on 594 women, 98% of women in the studies who had no history of breast cancer had elevated or moderate levels of mammastatin in the blood serum as measured by the Mammastatin Serum Assay. Conversely, 74% of women in the same studies who had breast cancer or who had a family history of breast cancer had no detectable levels of Mammastatin or very low levels.

 A Test That Aids In Early Detection

The MSA offers a biological measure of breast cancer risk assessment so that personal and physician attention may be focused on early detection of breast cancer. When detected early women can have up to a 98% probability of surving breast cancer. The MSA is developed to help women and their physicians identify breast cancer early and and to identify women who have an elevated risk of developing breast cancer.