• HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Accelerated discovery a triple threat to triple negative breast cancer

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
January 6, 2017
in Science News
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Credit: Houston Methodist Hospital

Study Highlights

  • Discovered a gene mutation driving formation of most aggressive triple negative breast cancer.
  • Identified two proteins predicting overall patient survival.
  • Validated a therapeutic compound in animal models that slows tumor growth and increases the efficacy of chemotherapy.

HOUSTON-(Jan. 3, 2017)-Houston Methodist Hospital researchers have advanced a potential treatment for metaplastic breast cancer–the most aggressive subtype of triple negative breast cancer, into patients in just under four years.

In a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (early online Dec. 31), a multi-institutional team led by Jenny C. Chang, M.D., director of the Houston Methodist Cancer Center, identified a gene driving the formation of metaplastic breast cancer.

"We not only uncovered the biological pathway stimulating cancer growth, but we found a compound that blocked it, increasing the survival of mice carrying human metaplastic breast tumors," said Chang, the study's senior author.

Metaplastic breast cancers account for less than 1 percent of all breast cancers, according to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This subtype is the most aggressive triple negative breast cancer and remains therapeutically challenging to treat. Highly unresponsive to chemotherapy, these aggressive tumors leave patients with a three-year survival rate of 40 percent, worse than the 70 percent given triple negative breast cancer patients. Identifying the genetic mutation gave Chang and her team a jumpstart on targeting this cancer.

The research team found the same gene mutated in 39 of the 40 tumor samples from metaplastic breast patients. The mutation was in the gene RPL39, which like HER2 (a gene overexpressed in 1 out of 5 breast cancers), is considered an oncogene. This means that cells carrying the erroneous form of this gene divide uncontrollably and result in rapid tumor growth. Identifying RPL39 was the first step in determining how to treat this cancer.

RPL39 regulates the expression of an enzyme called inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). The Houston Methodist researchers found that patients with high expression of RPL39 and iNOS had lower overall survival. Intuitively, the team investigated effects of an iNOS inhibitor on the treatment of metaplastic breast cancer and found the L-NMMA compound shrunk tumors in mice bearing human metaplastic breast tumors.

"The results showed elimination of the cancer in nearly all of the mice when combined with standard chemotherapy," said Chang, also professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. "Our goal is to turn metaplastic breast cancer from a debilitating disease into a chronic illness."

Houston Methodist Hospital is currently enrolling patients diagnosed with metaplastic breast cancer in a phase I clinical trial for L-NMMA.

###

Co-authors of the study included Bhuvanesh Dave, Ph.D., Daniel D. Gonzalez, Zhi-Bin Liu, M.D., Helen Wong, Sergio Granados, Ph.D., Joe E. Ensor, Ph.D., and Douglas H. Sieglaff, Ph.D. (Houston Methodist); Xianxian Li, M.D. (Shanghai Cancer Center and Cancer Institute of Fudan); Nadeer E. Ezzedine, Ph.D., Agda Karina Etrovic, Ph.D., Gordon B. Mills, M.D., and Michael Z. Gilcrease, M.D. (University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center); Kathy D. Miller, M.D. and Milan Radovic, Ph.D. (Indiana University Medical School); Steven S. Gross, Ph.D. (Weill Cornell Medical College); and Oliver Elemento, Ph.D. (Institute for Computational Biomedicine).

The research was supported in part by Chan Soon Shiong Institute of Advanced Health (AUP-1010-0025), BCRF, and Houston Methodist Foundation Grants.

To speak with Jenny Chang, M.D., contact Patricia Akinfenwa, Houston Methodist, at 281.740.1402 or [email protected] For more information about Houston Methodist, visit houstonmethodist.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

For more information: RPL39 modulates NOS signaling and RNA editing to drive metaplastic breast cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djw292 (Online December 31, 2016). B. Dave, D. Gonzalez, Z. Liu, X. Li, H. Wang, S. Granados, N. Ezzedine, D. Sieglaff, J. E. Ensor, K. D. Miller, M. Radovic, A. K. Etrovic, S. S. Gross, O. Elemnto, G. B. Mills, M. Gilcrease, and J. Chang.

Media Contact

Patricia Akinfenwa
[email protected]
281-740-1402
@MethodistHosp

http://methodisthealth.com

############

Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag

Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

Berkeley Surface Emitting Laser

New single-mode semiconductor laser delivers power with scalability

June 29, 2022
Studying chemicals in wastewater

Monitoring COVID-19: Could medicine found in wastewater provide an early warning?

June 29, 2022

Ice Age wolf DNA reveals dogs trace ancestry to two separate wolf populations

June 29, 2022

Destruction and recovery of kelp forests driven by changes in sea urchin behavior

June 29, 2022
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Pacific whiting

    Oregon State University research finds evidence to suggest Pacific whiting skin has anti-aging properties that prevent wrinkles

    37 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 9
  • University of Miami Rosenstiel School selected for National ‘Reefense’ Initiative focusing on Florida and the Caribbean

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9
  • Saving the Mekong delta from drowning

    37 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 9
  • Sharks may be closer to the city than you think, new study finds

    34 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Tags

WeaponryUrogenital SystemVaccineZoology/Veterinary ScienceWeather/StormsVirusUrbanizationUniversity of WashingtonVaccinesVirologyVehiclesViolence/Criminals

Recent Posts

  • New single-mode semiconductor laser delivers power with scalability
  • Monitoring COVID-19: Could medicine found in wastewater provide an early warning?
  • Ice Age wolf DNA reveals dogs trace ancestry to two separate wolf populations
  • Destruction and recovery of kelp forests driven by changes in sea urchin behavior
  • Contact Us

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Posting....