NewsHealth & MedicineThe spread of breast cancer may be inheritedA variant of the genePCSK9may spur breast cancers spread. An approved antibody might stop it A commonly inherited version of thePCSK9gene may spur breast cancer cells to migrate to other parts of the body (metastasis illustrated). The gene is known for its role in raising cholesterol, and there's already a lab-made antibody for treating it that may also stop the cancer spread.wildpixel/iStock/Getty Images PlusBy Tina Hesman Saey14 seconds agoA gene involved in setting cholesterol levels may also determine whether breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body.A variant of the PCSK9 gene drives the spread of breast cancer, but a lab-made antibody already approved to treat high cholesterol may help stop the exodus, researchers report December 9 in Cell.For years, researchers have been examining normal tissue and breast cancer tumors that had spread to other parts of the body trying and failing to find mutations that spur the migration, says oncologist and cancer biologist Sohail Tavazoie of the Rockefeller University in New York City. Wenbin Mei, a cancer biologist in Tavazoies lab, wondered if inherited genetic variants instead of mutations that happen in tumors might give cancer cells wanderlust.