BGU Study Identifies Key Protein Behind Breast Cancer Spread
BGU Study Identifies Key Protein Behind Breast Cancer Spread
April 28, 2026
Medical Research, Natural Sciences
Left to right: BGU’s Prof. Etta Livneh, Dr. Liju Vijaya Steltar, and Prof. Moshe Elkabets.
The Jewish Chronicle—Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have identified a key protein that plays a central role in enabling aggressive breast cancer to spread, offering new hope in the fight against one of the most challenging forms of the disease. Focusing on triple-negative breast cancer, the team discovered that the protein PKC-eta drives metastasis—the process by which cancer spreads to vital organs such as the lungs, liver, and brain. While advances in surgery have improved the removal of primary tumors, metastasis remains the leading cause of mortality, making this discovery especially significant.
The research, led by Prof. Etta Livneh and Prof. Moshe Elkabets of the Faculty of Health Sciences at BGU, was highlighted by The Jewish Chronicle for its potential to treat aggressive cancers. Alongside Dr. Liju Vijaya Steltar and an international team, the researchers found that PKC-eta enhances cancer cell mobility, activates gene programs that drive metastasis, and interacts with the YAP protein in the Hippo signaling pathway. When PKC-eta activity was reduced in laboratory and animal models, tumor growth slowed, and metastatic spread decreased significantly.
“Our findings reveal that PKC-eta could represent a prognostic marker to identify patients prone to developing metastasis, and thus could serve as a therapeutic target for this highly lethal and metastatic disease,” said Prof. Livneh.
Building on these findings, the BGU team also identified a promising therapeutic approach. They discovered a naturally occurring peptide capable of targeting and degrading PKC-eta, disrupting the cancer’s ability to spread in experimental models and significantly reducing metastasis to the lungs and liver.
“This recently discovered peptide could be utilized as a specific therapeutic drug,” said Prof. Elkabets. While further research is needed to translate these results into clinical treatments, the study—published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy—demonstrates BGU’s continued leadership in advancing innovative, life-saving cancer research.
Read more on The Jewish Chronicle
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