NUS researchers find drug that turns off ‘master switch’ in aggressive breast cancer
The findings could lead to better, more personalised treatments for the aggressive cancer.
Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Medicine discovered a drug that effectively suppresses a "master switch" in aggressive triple-negative breast cancer, potentially leading to more personalized treatments for this fast-spreading subtype. Triple-negative breast cancer, which accounts for 15-20% of all breast cancer cases, lacks receptors for estrogen, progesterone and the HER2 protein, making it difficult to treat with traditional therapies.
This subtype is particularly aggressive, often resulting in early recurrence, metastasis, and poor survival rates.
The research team identified a key regulator, called DP103, which drives cancer growth, spread, and treatment resistance. By targeting DP103, they discovered the drug Supinoxin (RX-5902) reduced cancer stem cell viability by 40-60%, and slowed tumour growth by around 50% in laboratory models. The therapy also extended survival rates, with 50% of treated laboratory models surviving 70 days or more compared to none in the untreated group.
Lead researcher Alan Prem Kumar, an assistant professor at NUS Centre for Cancer Research, suggested that DP103 could serve as a diagnostic biomarker to identify patients most likely to benefit from RX-5902, enabling a more precise, personalized approach to treating triple-negative breast cancer. Another co-author, Celestial T. Yap, noted that DP103 represents a biological vulnerability in the disease, offering new insights for more precise patient selection and targeted therapies for improved clinical outcomes.
As abnormal Wnt signalling contributes to several other cancers, the researchers believe their findings could open new avenues for treating other aggressive cancers. Their next steps involve validating DP103 as a predictive biomarker in larger patient cohorts, further developing therapies targeting the regulator, and exploring combinations with existing treatments to enhance treatment outcomes.
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