New Zealand scientists say what could be a breakthrough in breast cancer research has the potential to lead to the development of new drugs to treat a larger percentage of women with the disease than currently targeted therapies such as herceptin.

The team of researchers from Auckland University’s Liggins Institute led by Prof Peter Lobie, has identified three molecules that are present in up to 90 percent of breast cancers. Prof Lobie says the molecules cause the cancer cells to stay alive, but when the signal they give out is stopped, the cancer cells die.

Cancers may in future be diagnosed from a tiny drop of blood or speck of tissue smaller than a full stop.

New technology that allows cancer proteins to be analyzed in minute samples could spell the end of surgical biopsies, research suggests.

The same system could also enable cancer treatment to be monitored quickly and easily.

Although the study focused on blood cancers, scientists hope to apply the technique to solid tumors too.

The US researchers developed a machine to separate out cancer-associated proteins by means of their electric charge. This varies according to modifications on the protein’s surface.

Antibodies, immune system agents that bind to specific molecules, were then used to identify the relative amounts and positions of different proteins.

The technique was able to detect varying levels of activity of common cancer genes in human lymphoma samples, and even distinguish between different lymphoma types. Biopsies involve removing lumps of tissue for analysis in a laboratory, and often require a general anesthetic.

Dr Dean Feisher, from the University of Stanford in California, said: “This technology allows us to analyze cancer-associated proteins on a very small scale. Not only can we detect picogram levels – one trillionth of a gram – of protein, but we can also see very subtle changes in the ways the protein is modified.”

The researchers, who report their findings in the online version of the journal Nature Medicine, were able to confirm the anti-cancer effect of a cholesterol-lowering statin drug on one lymphoma patient.

The scientists are now testing the technique on head and neck tumors.