A Closer Look At A Promising New Treatment for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

 

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women worldwide, and while there are various forms of the disease, some are harder to treat than others. One of the toughest types is triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which grows fast, spreads quickly, and is resistant to many traditional therapies.

But there's some good news: recent research may offer a new way to fight TNBC by combining two drugs that could make targeting and destroying these aggressive cancer cells easier.

But First, what makes TNBC so hard to treat?

Most breast cancers can be treated with drugs that target specific proteins, like hormone receptors or the HER2 protein. TNBC, however, doesn’t have these proteins. This means doctors can’t use many of the common treatments that work on other types of breast cancer, like hormone therapy or HER2-targeted drugs. This leaves fewer options, making TNBC one of the most dangerous forms of breast cancer.

 A New Hope: Targeting Proteins That Help Cancer Grow

Researchers at Mass General Brigham have been studying TNBC in hopes of finding new ways to attack it. They discovered that two proteins, AKT and EZH2, play important roles in helping TNBC cells grow and multiply. Both of these proteins can be overactive in TNBC, helping the cancer grow faster.

In the study, the researchers used drugs that block AKT and EZH2 together, and they found that this combination worked better than using either drug on its own. By blocking both proteins, they forced the TNBC cells to change into a state where they were easier to kill. In lab tests, the number of cancer cells dropped significantly within just four days.

Why Is This Important?

The combination of AKT and EZH2 inhibitors is exciting because it might offer a new treatment option for patients with TNBC. Currently, TNBC patients often have to rely on chemotherapy, which can have serious side effects. If this new approach works in humans, it could provide a less harsh, more effective treatment. This is especially important following the recent failure of another targeted TNBC therapy in clinical trials. Researchers are optimistic that by using this drug combination, they may succeed where other treatments have failed.

The Role of AI in Finding Better Treatments

AI, which has been playing a role in virtually all aspects of our lives today, has found a purpose in fighting TNBC as well. One of the coolest aspects of this research is how artificial intelligence (AI) was used to figure out why some TNBC cells responded better to the treatment than others. By studying patterns in the cancer cells, AI helped the researchers identify which tumors are most likely to respond to the drug combination.This is a big deal because it means doctors could potentially tailor treatments to each patient, increasing the chances of success.

So What’s Next?

While these results are promising, more research is needed to confirm whether this combination therapy will work in humans. The researchers are calling for clinical trials to test the drug combination in patients. If successful, it could mean a major breakthrough in the fight against TNBC, offering new hope for patients who currently have limited treatment options.