Breakthrough in fight against breast cancer
Irish team develops targeted therapy
IRISH scientists have made a huge breakthrough in the treatment of an aggressive form of breast cancer.
Researchers at NUI Galway say the findings could improve the response to chemotherapy and reduce relapse for patients with triple negative breast cancer.
Professor Afshin Samali, who led the study, said: “The new era of precision oncology aims to tailor treatments to individual cancer patients and we are excited to identify a new therapeutic strategy for triple negative breast cancer patients who are most in need of better treatment options.
“This strategy may benefit many other cancer patients whose cancer cells rely on activated cell stress responses to survive.”
TNBC is one of the most aggressive and difficult to treat forms of the killer disease. It accounts for around 15% of all breast cancers diagnosed and occurs more frequently in younger women.
Unlike other strains, there are no targeted therapies available for it.
Currently, chemotherapy is the mainstay treatment, and although initially successful, many patients relapse within one to three years of treatment and have a poor long-term prognosis.
The findings have revealed shown for the first time that IRE1, a cellular stress sensor that normally acts to alleviate shortterm stresses within cells, such as lack of nutrients or oxygen, is a central driver of treatment-related relapse.
Professor Samali added: “This study is the result of extensive laboratory experiments, analysis of breast cancer patient samples, testing pre-clinical models of triple negative breast cancer and collaboration with our international and industry partners.”
Dr Susan Logue, first author of the study, said: “This work has uncovered a previously unknown role for IRE1 and suggests that it may represent a good therapeutic target for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer.
“While further research is needed, this work is a great example of how curiosity-driven basic research can lead to translational outcomes with real potential to impact on patient treatment.”
The study was funded by Science Foundation Ireland, Irish Cancer Society and Horizon 2020 with initial funding from Breast Cancer Now.
■ To read the full study in Nature Communications, visit www.nature. com/ncomms.
of all breast cancers are triple negative breast cancer
How many years on average it takes patients with TNBC to relapse