Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and can rarely occur in men. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly aggressive and hard-to-treat type of breast cancer that lacks estrogen, progesterone receptors, and HER2 protein. A new cell study has identified two inhibitors, AKT and EZH2, that when used together can revert TNBC cells to a state where they can be more easily destroyed. This discovery offers hope for a new treatment for TNBC.
The American Cancer Society reports that 1 in every 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer at some point in their life. Although breast cancer incidence is rising, fewer people are dying from the disease due to improved screening and treatments. However, some forms of breast cancer, like TNBC, remain challenging to treat. TNBC tends to grow and spread rapidly, with a worse prognosis than other breast cancers. Around 8,000 UK women are diagnosed with TNBC each year.
The combination of AKT and EZH2 inhibitors selectively kills TNBC cells, potentially leading to a new treatment for this hard-to-treat cancer. In this cell study, researchers induced TNBC cells to differentiate into a state where they could be destroyed by the inhibitors. The research was supported by Cancer Research UK and The Mark Foundation, and the findings were published in Nature. The inhibitors individually were not effective against TNBC, but in combination, they significantly reduced the number of cancer cells.
Machine learning was used to identify which TNBC cells were most vulnerable to the combined treatment, helping to determine which patients may respond best to the therapy. The research offers a new hypothesis on why combining an epigenetic inhibitor with AKT could succeed where other treatments failed. The researchers also evaluated the drugs in various mouse tumor models, seeing dramatic tumor regression, providing strong support for developing a clinical trial in humans.
The study’s findings offer hope for more effective therapies that could potentially spare patients from the side effects of chemotherapy. With novel treatment strategies being essential in tackling hard-to-treat cancers like TNBC, further evidence from clinical trials will help determine if this combination therapy could be a potential treatment option in the future. The research has the potential to save lives and improve the quality of life for patients with TNBC.
Overall, the study’s unique approach, combining basic research with collaboration to identify effective inhibitors for TNBC, provides hope for a new treatment for this aggressive type of breast cancer. With promising results in cell cultures, patient-derived xenografts, and various mouse tumor models, the researchers are optimistic about the potential of their findings leading to a more effective therapy for TNBC patients. Further research and clinical trials will be crucial in determining the effectiveness and potential of this combination therapy in treating TNBC and improving patient outcomes.
