Have the 650 breast cancer studies published over the last 25 years been in vain? In a bizarre case of misidentification, the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-435, which until now has been the foremost model for metastatic breast cancer studies, has been reidentified as melanoma. A growing body of evidence that includes gene expression profiles, SNP arrays, and karyotype analysis have identified the source of 435 as the melanoma cell line M14, a cancer that arises from the pigment-containing melanocytes of the epidermis. The news has shaken the breast cancer community. Commercial distributors have discontinued the sale of 435, as researchers scramble to find a new model cell line from which to study metastatic breast cancer. Despite the overwhelming evidence that 435 is not a breast cancer line, some researchers are choosing to ignore facts and continue breast cancer studies using 435 as a model, prompting debate and controversy throughout the field.
Source: TheScientist.com
